The following speech was delivered in Parliament today by DA Shadow Deputy Minister in the Presidency, Yusuf Cassim MP, during the Budget Vote on Statistics South Africa.
Honourable Chairperson,
The aim of Statistics South Africa (StasSA) is to provide relevant and accurate statistics in line with internationally approved practice to inform users of the dynamics of the economy and society.
According to the Statistics Act, the purpose of official statistics is to assist organs of state, business, other organisations and the public in planning, decision-making, and monitoring or assessment of policies.
We are living in a global information society where the amount of information and its flow to society is increasing. Statistics plays a major role in shaping and providing scientific information that is useful in almost every aspect of human life.
Modern decision making, whether done by a national government, potential investors or an international agency, is increasingly relying on statistical methods to improve the quality of information and decision making.
The established United Nations “High Level Panel on the Post-2015 Development Agenda” in its report entitled “A New Global Partnership: Eradicate Poverty and Transform Economies through Sustainable Development,” sets out inter alia a universal agenda to eradicate extreme poverty globally by 2030, and deliver on the promise of sustainable development.
The report called “for a data revolution for sustainable development, with a new international initiative to improve the quality of statistics and information available to people and governments”.
Increasing appreciation of the role, power and importance of statistics should lead to a higher priority attached to statistical capacity development.
Honourable Chairperson, we can take heart from the excellent work done in maintaining confidence in the statistics produced by StatsSA. Given the importance of quality statistics, we dare not become complacent.
Quality statistics require innovation and greater technological utility in reinforcing the prerequisites and eight dimensions of quality. We must keep-pace with the digital revolution and StatsSA requires the proper resources, and in particular the relevant skills to do so.
StatsSA has experienced a significant budget shortfall. Budget cuts have particularly compromised its ability to fill, attract and retain necessary skills. Its staff compliment has been reduced with a significant decrease of funded posts in the current financial year.
Given the importance of quality statistics to the fortunes of government, as I will outline below, we believe this to be penny wise but pound foolish.
If anything, StatsSA must have access to the best skills in the market to embody a modern, cutting edge utility. The integrity of statistics relies on the ability to invest in the digital revolution. Data revolution should be at the centre of the work of government.
Quality statistics has a variety of uses including improving investor confidence. Of equal importance, quality statistics are indispensable to evidence-based policy-making.
In simple terms, evidence-based policy-making is a means by which policies and programmes intended to improve lives are based on clearly defined, time-bound, and measurable milestones. This allows timely modification, consolidation or change of policy as the case may require, thus ensuring urgent responses to challenges.
It is in this context that statistics become part and parcel of ‘evidence-based’ policy-making, statistics understood here to mean more than a routine collection and storage of numbers, but rather as credible and scientifically derived evidence intended to evaluate the impact of policy-making.
Honourable Chairperson, whilst there is reason for optimism insofar as the quality of our statistics is concerned, its use as part of evidence-based policy-making remains elusive.
Our government has a plan, the National Development Plan (NDP). It has quality statistics at its disposal. Yet our governments still make decisions on shaky ideological grounds, in the interest of arbitrating patronage and without proper evaluation against the NDP.
Often the ideology of the relevant Minister and/or special interests dictate the direction of a department. If a Minister doesn’t agree ideologically with the NDP, they simply skirts it.
If Ministers stand in the way of a Gupta mining acquisition, the pursuit of a Nuclear Deal or the looting of Treasury, they are shuffled so brazenly, some of them still look dizzy.
Our statistics will remain meaningless until and unless they are embedded in the key priorities of government and become part of planning tools used by the three spheres of government in directing resources and informing the amendment of efforts towards achieving the goals set by the NDP in the manner prescribed by the NDP.
Honourable Chairperson, we can build a prosperous South Africa. Central to this effort is the role of StatsSA and the credence afforded to its findings.
How we produce and use information will determine our fortunes. Ignoring this would be folly. We must change the way we think about information and government.
I am confident that in doing so, the lofty goals set out in the NDP are within our grasp.