Speaker, may I firstly thank the hon Minister and Statistics SA for the preparation that they have completed for, in his words, "the largest deployment of people in peacetime in our country". The ACDP would like to express its full support for this year's census, which will take place in 20 days' time.
Accurate statistics as to the size of the population will enable government to allocate services and resources better, particularly in the fight against poverty and unemployment. Additionally, every survey that Statistics SA will be doing afterwards will be measured against the statistics produced in this census and this will clearly help us in our monitoring and oversight function as MPs.
Thus, the ACDP calls on all persons and households to co-operate with the fieldworkers in the run-up to and on census day. Clearly, it will be a challenge to access the myriad informal settlements, apartments and security complexes, and we need to assist in this regard.
It is important for the public to know that enumerators are sworn to secrecy, as the Minister pointed out. This, we trust, will also address underreporting, particularly of illegal immigrants, who may be afraid that if they provide information they will be deported.
It must also be borne in mind that it is a statutory obligation to participate in this census and this should also be made known to the public.
To conclude, let us, as public representatives, rise to the challenge of making this a successful census by communicating it, as the Minister says, as a national, all-inclusive endeavour. The ACDP will fully support this census.