Takunda Maodza Senior Reporter
THE envisaged national population census hit stormy waters yesterday with riot police sealing off venues where training of enumerators was supposed to take place amid reports that MDC-T wanted to hijack the process for political expediency.

The situation was reportedly the same at most centres countrywide where police in riot gear barred people from accessing the venues.

Chief police spokesperson Senior Assistant Commissioner Wayne Bvudzijena could not be drawn to comment on the issue last night.

Confusion reined after the Ministry of Finance, which oversees the census, announced the suspension of the training of enumerators at a hastily-convened Press conference on Monday evening.

Acting Finance Minister Gorden Moyo confirmed that the census had a false start following disagreement among civil servants on the composition of who should partake in the process.

Scores of prospective enumerators yesterday milled around the venues amid reports that MDC-T, from which the Finance Minister is drawn, sought to hijack the process for political reasons and was averse to having members of the security forces taking part for fear of exposure.

Minister Moyo announced the suspension of training, raising the ire the prospective enumerators.
Cabinet, however, shot down the proposal yesterday and said the security services should be given a quota of the slots though the bulk of enumerators will be recruited from the education sector. The census will run from August 17 to 27.

“Tomorrow (today), we are registering 30 000 enumerators across the country and they will start training those who will meet our criteria.”

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He said those who would be recruited must be holders of diplomas or degrees as the process involves the use of complicated questionnaires.
Minister Moyo claimed the security forces, who were also civil servants, had requested to be enumerators.

Minister Moyo, however, said enumerators from the security services would take part in the actual counting of people, but in barracks, police stations and prisons.