Guyana to host forum for Caribbean Statisticians

Oct 26, 2014 News

Commencing tomorrow, Guyana will be hosting the 39th Meeting of the Standing Committee of Caribbean Statisticians (SCCS) and the 24th Regional Census Coordinating Committee (RCCC) at the Princess International Hotel, Providence, East Bank Demerara (EBD). The meetings conclude on Friday. This is the first time Guyana is hosting the regional fora. They have been held in St. Kitts and Nevis (2013), Grenada (2012), Belize (2011), St. Lucia (2009), Barbados (2008), Suriname (2007) and Trinidad and Tobago (2006). This year also marks the 40th anniversary of the SCCS.
The Annual Meeting of the SCCS is an event that sees Regional Directors of Statistics and Chief Statisticians of CARICOM deliberating on a Regional Statistical Work Programme geared at ensuring integration and cooperation of all statistical offices in the Region.
Guyana’s Chief Statistician Lennox Benjamin said that these two events (SCCS & RCCC) serve as a reminder of the key roles statisticians play in trying to “improve the quality of life of the peoples of the Caribbean Community”.
“It enables policies that facilitate the development of each country in the region.”
The Chief Statistician noted that the National Statistical Offices of the Region aim at “producing and disseminating statistics to inform public policies as well as for use by researchers and the private sector.”
He noted that there is an increase in demand for high quality statistics in a timely manner.
The SCCS was established one year after the coming into effect of the Caribbean Community, with the recognition of the vital role of sound, relevant and timely statistics in guiding sustainable social and economic development of the Region.
Given the establishment of the SCCS in 1974, this year is an auspicious occasion for statisticians across the Region as it is the 40th anniversary of the SCCS. Benjamin said too that all member countries of CARICOM as well as Associate members participate.
The meetings of the Standing Committee were subsequently expanded to include meetings of the RCCC, which is the umbrella body for the conceptualization and implementation of the National Population and Housing Census throughout the Caribbean Region.
The Twenty-fourth RCCC Meeting will serve to monitor and evaluate the Population and Housing Census in each Caribbean country and to continue to encourage the sharing of experiences, the identification of best practices and challenges, so as to provide support to countries in need. The RCCC also aids in fulfilling the SCCS mandate with the preparation of a Regional plan to support a common census framework.
“Statistics is the core of everything we do and is crucial in the development of our territories,” Benjamin reiterated. He said too that the continued challenge to statistics in today’s dynamic world is referred to in the theme of this year’s meeting ‘Data Revolution for Sustainable Development in CARICOM – Designing and operationalizing a framework for statistics.’
Several items have been placed on the agenda for discussion. They include, but are not limited to, sustaining the development of statistics in CARICOM; advancing the process of implementing the regional statistics work programme; economy, finance and investment statistics; population, demographic, social and living condition statistics and statistics on information and communication technologies.

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