•Ongwae and Maangi said the speed must be improved for the target to be reached in the one week before the exercise is concluded.
•The headcount started on Saturday evening and will end on August 31.
Kisii Governor James Ongwae and Deputy Governor Joash Maangi on Saturday evening raised concerns over the slowness of the gadgets used by enumerators for the census.
They said it took the enumerators an hour to register each one of them because of technical hitches.
Ongwae and Maangi said the speed must be improved for the target to be reached in the one week before the exercise is concluded.
The headcount started on Saturday evening and will end on August 31.
“I have noticed that it took the enumerators one hour the enumerators to register me. The speed of the gadgets is wanting because this will be the base, then the target might not be achieved,” Ongwae said.
Ongwae and his deputy were counted at their Mile Mbili and Riagongera at 6pm and 8pm respectively.
Senator Sam Ongeri, who was registered at his Omoyo home, expressed optimism that glaring errors, which were experienced in the last census, will not occur because this time the same is paperless.
“We hope that the exercise will be free of errors which were experienced in the last census exercise because it is paperless,” Ongeri said.
Ongwae said that the exercise went on smoothly, free of any insecurity threats.
“The exercise is going on well despite a few challenges here and there. Security has been beefed up in all areas,” Onwgae said.
He urged residents to turn up in large numbers and register in the exercise undertaken once in every 10 years since it is important for national planning and development.
Ongwae said that the numbers will also enable counties to benefit in terms allocation depending of their population.
“Residents need to understand that the national population and housing census is vital because it also informs on adequate policy making by the national government.
Maangi urged residents not to hide any information regarding the number of children, animals and property they own.
For instance, Maangi said that the total population will help the government set aside enough funds to the health sector, which is critical for the country’s economy.
He said it is also critical for the government to know the number of animals that are reared across the country to enable the government make a decision on how many veterinary officers it will employ.
He urged the locals to discard beliefs that the night census is against the culture and harmful.
“Residents must discard believes during the census exercise. The count is not harmful in any way,” he said.