The Minister in the Presidency, Jackson Mthembu, will approach Treasury to find a solution to the funding problems experienced by Statistics South Africa (Stats SA). This is after a meeting between Mthembu, the Statistician-General Risenga Maluleke and members of the South African Statistics Council.
The Council earlier threatened to resign over a lack of funds for Statistics South Africa. It an earlier statement, Council Chairperson David Everatt, said that in 2015, Stats SA had R160 million stripped from its budget.
In the video below Council Chairperson David Everatt says Stats SA has had money taken away from its budget every year since 2015/2016:
Mthembu’s Spokesperson, Nonceba Mhlauli, says all parties involved are in agreement that an urgent and lasting solution is needed to avert a crisis.
“The spirit of the meeting was to find common ground to ensure continuity and integrity of the statistical system. The meeting was productive and congenial. The outcome was that the Minister, Secretary General and the council will further engage the Minister of Finance and Treasury team on the imminent challenges of the statistical system should we not urgently address these funding challenges.”
Stats SA is the only source of official statistics in the country.
