The government has been providing 40 per cent budget for censuses, while the CBS chipped in the rest of the 60 per cent with support from various donor agencies. With donor agencies appearing reluctant to pledge financial assistance, the traditional 40-60 composition of the census budget seems pretty unlikely this time around. [break]
Major donor agencies, including the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), Danish International Development Agencies (DANIDA) and Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), have not confirmed their financial assistance. Other agencies like the United Nations Children´s Fund (UNICEF) and the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM), which have been urged to support for collecting partial statistics relating to women and children, have not yet made any announcements, either.
Donor agencies´ reluctance to immediately making announcements of financial support has been viewed as signs of frustration that they developed in the course of assisting Nepal´s peace process.
According to a senior CBS official, some representatives of donor agencies have personally stated that the dismal outcome of the financial assistance they provided to the government for the peace process has deterred them from making quick announcements of monetary support.
“Representatives of donor agencies say that they find it hard to include any remarkable achievements in the reports they are supposed to submit to their bosses,” he says, adding. “After all, they need some solid outcomes.” The new census has been deemed to be a part of the peace process as its statistics may be useful in restructuring the country.
Besides, the upcoming census will coincide with next National Health Demographic Survey (NHDS), which is carried out every five years. Some donor agencies, which financially support NHDS, might have been deterred because they will have to invest for two events in the same year.
Bikash Bishta, Deputy Director General of CBS, however, asserts that it is out of question that no donor agency would come forward for conducting such a great event, which takes place in every 10 years. “The government may need to increase its share of investment,” he said. “But I believe that the government will finally be able to persuade donor agencies.”
In an attempt to dispel growing confusion, the National Planning Commission has, albeit unofficially, assured CBS officials that the government would bear the entire expenses of the census budget in the case donor agencies pull out.
“NPC has assured us that the government is doing its best to nail down bilateral agreements with donor agencies at the earliest,” a senior CBS official said. “The government, as NPC officials say, has made up its mind even to increase its share in the total census budget, if need be.”
The new census 2011 is expected to cost a whopping $ 25 million. The new census budget has been increased hugely as CBS aims to make it the most accurate and comprehensive ever.
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