Polokwane - Criminals will not be allowed to take advantage of the Census 2011 process to get into people's homes, warned Limpopo Premier Cassel Mathale on Wednesday.
Addressing the launch of the census in Polokwane, he said criminals who wanted to take advantage of the initiative by pretending to be Statistics South Africa fieldworkers would not succeed.
"We are fully aware of the fact that criminals may want to abuse this process to pursue their barbaric criminal intentions. However, we can assure you members of the police service and other law enforcement agencies are prepared and ready to protect our people and ensure that no person is harmed during this counting process," he said.
He urged the community to open its doors when the fieldworkers came knocking.
"We must open our doors for data collectors from Statistics SA, who will be wearing visible uniforms. These fieldworkers will cover every centimetre of the province where people live in order to ensure that all communities are visited and counted," he said.
Mathale said the census would provide the government with valuable data to help inform planning, decision making, policy formulation, monitoring and evaluation of service delivery.
"We are urging the private sector, non-governmental formations, the civil society movement, faith-based missions and traditional leaders to take a lead in this regard by encouraging people to participate in this important process," he said.
Mathale also stressed that the census was "not about tax verification or investigating crime", and urged farmers to give their workers the opportunity to be counted.
The census will run from 9 - 31 October next year.
