THE government is set to carry out an industrial production census across three months from next month, the first time it is conducted in both parts of the union at the same time.

Dr Selemani Jafo, the Industry and Trade minister, made this affirmation at a press conference on the 2023 industrial production census. 

The census will be used to collect extensive data useful for the government and stakeholders to make informed decisions in policy updates, plans and programmes for industrial sector development and the economy as a whole, he said.

The results will also be used to evaluate the implementation of the Five-Year Development Plan (FYDP III), regional programmes such as the East African Vision 2050, the African Union Agenda 2063, and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) for 2030, he stated. 

This projection notably includes SDG goal six on access to clean and safe water, goal seven on access to clean and affordable energy alongside goal nine on industrial development, innovation and infrastructure, he explained.

Census officials will collect data from industries employing 10 or more people as a category, while those employing one to nine workers form another category, he said. 

Data collection on some small-scale industries will be conducted on a sampling method to save time and resources as large numbers of small businesses have similar characteristics, he asserted.

Data collection will be conducted electronically, with enumerators using tablets to gather information through digital questionnaires as was done during the 2022 Population and Housing Census, he specified.

Stakeholders in the industrial sector need to cooperate with the government to ensure the successful completion of the census, he said, noting that those who withhold required information will be dealt with in accordance with the law.

Dr Albina Chuwa, the chief statistician, said that the census will be conducted from March to June, with the results expected in a few months. 

The census was conducted on the Mainland in 1963, 1978, 1989 and 2013, with Zanzibar carrying out that exercise in 1989, 2002, 2008 and 2012, she added.