Statistics South Africa (Stats SA) has reopened online Census registration and has extended the period during which the Web-based questionnaire can be completed.

Household registrations increased significantly in the days preceding the original close of registration which coincided with the first week of enumeration, Stats SA indicates.

“It appears that once households realised how quick and easy it is to complete the online Census form, word got around prompting the spike in registrations. There have been numerous requests to the call centre for us to reopen registration.

“Households can register at https://getcounted.statssa.gov.za/#!/home. Only one person needs to register on behalf of the household,” Stats SA notes.

Online enumeration was due to close on February 11, but will now be made available for an extended period to allow more households to capture their information.

The online form can be completed on a computer or smartphone and is data free to the user. Stats SA says the form is simple to complete and will take about ten to 45 minutes, depending on the size of the household.

Census 2022 is South Africa’s first fully digital census and provides three alternative methods for households to participate.

In addition to the self-completed Web-based form, fieldworkers can capture information on a tablet – either over the phone or in a face-to-face interview.

The extended online registration period will give Stats SA the opportunity to resolve a number of logistical problems which are hampering fieldwork, it says.

Among these are the slow pace of fieldworker recruitment, delivery of vehicles and functionality of the tablet based data collection application.

Over 145 000 temporary contract staff, sourced from Stats SA’s recruitment database of over one-million registrants, will be recruited to collect data from households.

To be appointed, a contractor must attend a minimum of four days of virtual training and pass an assessment, following which they must physically sign a contract.

Administrative processes are being streamlined to reduce time for selection, verification and approval of appointments.

A few challenges were experienced with the data collection application; these are being attended to by Stats SA information technology professionals, together with engineers from its software partners, to enable fully functional and scalable deployment of the application, Stats SA indicates.

Fieldwork will be limited during this period and contract staff that are on board will direct their efforts to confirming geographical information, publicity and refresher training.

“This once-in-a-decade national exercise is the only available source of community-level data. Accurate census data is critical for planning at all levels of government and society. Stats SA calls on all within the borders of South Africa to do their civic duty and get counted,” it says.