Politicians, stay out of statistics business

THE EDITOR: More than one economist has criticised the Minister of Finance regarding his disinformation concerning the recent IMF Article IV Report on the state of this country’s economy.

Adding to this, Imbert resorted to a simplistic and unprofessional handling of data about our country’s natural gas production to add substance to his unscientific and wishful “projections” of positive economic growth for TT over the ensuing two or three years.

He went as far as to point fingers at the public servants in the Ministry of Energy, impugning the quality of their work negatively by suggesting they had supplied the “wrong data.”

The Central Statistical Office (CSO) is an independent branch of the public service that has overall responsibility for collating and publishing statistical data that inform on policy issues. Such data also form the basis for quantitative scientific inquiry into the country’s developmental progress.

Since the Government has come into office, there has been at least one occasion on which the head of the CSO has had to publicly set the record straight concerning Government’s representation of data that conflicted with the CSO’s database.

The Rowley administration has been repeatedly and publicly critical of the work the CSO has been doing. Suddenly, the PNM has become quite meticulous regarding the depth, range, and timeliness of data provided by the CSO. The Minister of Planning has articulated her concerns on more than one occasion.

The PNM has been touting its intention to create a national statistical institute which will replace the CSO. Whatever name the Government attaches to the body responsible for collating data relevant to policy decisions, its efficiency will remain as it is, unless there is a radical reorganisation of multiple intercalating State agencies. Of far more importance is the Government’s stated HR plan for that entity. The Government intends to remove the responsibility for appointing the Director of Statistics away from the Public Services Commission – an independent statutory body – and hand it to an elected politician under the rubric of limited contract appointment.

We are told that the legislation that is presently being drafted envisages that not only would the director of the proposed institute be a creature of the political Executive, but so too would be the numerous statisticians employed there.

It is nothing short of retrograde and pernicious to create a situation supported by law in which elected politicians seek to arrogate unto themselves the power to appoint personnel whose responsibility it is to collate national statistics. Such a plan risks infecting the process with political bias.

Such wide-ranging core data that can be accessed and utilised to inform public opinion on the effectiveness of government policy must be seen to be independently collected and processed. The functions of such a department are far too vital to a country’s well-being to risk even the slightest possibility of political intrusiveness. The PNM’s record of political interference is legendary.

STEVE SMITH
via e-mail

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"Politicians, stay out of statistics business"

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