The Tobago House of Assembly (THA) must develop a culture of statistics, as it’s the only way the Assembly can improve its data collection and subsequently, the lives of Tobagonians.
This was stressed at the National Statistics Seminar held at the Tobago Hospitality and Tourism Institute Blenheim, Mt St George, Tobago on Tuesday, October 15.
Themed “Building Resilience of the Caribbean Community,” the seminar sought to get THA officers—and the Tobago population—to understand the importance of statistics to the island’s development.
In bringing remarks, Sean O’Brien—Director of Statistics—said the importance of statistics will become more apparent to Tobagonians as the years go by because as the THA becomes more independent, it will need more statistics to drive the economy forward.
Giving an insight into the Ministry of Planning and Development’s plans, Ayleen Alleyne-Ovid said the Government is working toward making the Central Statistics Division more independent.
She said this was necessary to enable them to do their jobs and gather robust statistics to help the country.
“High quality data is necessary to achieve this country’s sustainable development goals and in keeping with the 2030 agenda,” she stated.
Mrs Alleyne-Ovid noted that robust statistics allow the Government to “craft policies that build resilience in the country’s economy.”
She urged participants to make the most of the information they gather during the course of seminar over the two day period.
Delivering the feature address, Chief Secretary of the Tobago House of Assembly Kelvin Charles said the policy must be “evidenced-based… to make more prudent decisions”.
He underscored the importance of statistics and noted that “statistics are important to democracy as opinions must also be rooted in statistics.”
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Story by CAMILLE MCEACHNIE