So much for technology

TODAY is the 10th day of the enumeration period for National Census 2024.
After 13 years of waiting, PNG was supposed to see an improved delivery of this national event.
Planning for this year’s census began two years ago and the present result of such preparation is appalling as progress of the population count is quite slow.
When the results are supposed to be coming in, some parts are just dispersing teams.
Many census workers, most of whom are volunteers, are still waiting for allowances and support from the relevant authorities tasked to coordinate this K153-million nationwide event.
Most provinces have not started counting their local populace, with many census workers manually collecting data to be entered into the digital tablets at a later time.
This calls to question the Government’s choice of spending to buy 22,000 digital tablets at a cost of K17 million from Max Industrials.
Administrative Services Minister Richard Masere had released a detailed statement outlining the reasons behind awarding the contract to the local contractor.
He said key considerations in awarding the contract included the:

• ABILITY to manufacture large quantities of tablets and accessories at short notice was crucial as the supplier demonstrated their capacity to scale production rapidly to meet the urgent demand;
• FOREIGN exchange (FX) availability posed a significant challenge and the chosen supplier demonstrated robust financial planning and the ability to manage FX constraints;
• TECHNICAL specifications and quality assurance were met by the supplier for the accuracy of census data;
• LICENSING approvals for Google Mobile Services certification to use the census software for data collection was met by the supplier to ensure all software licensing and compliance requirements were met within the required time frame; and,
• SUPPORT and maintenance capability to provide ongoing support and maintenance for the devices throughout the census to ensure that any technical issues would be promptly addressed.

However, many people in the country, particularly the business community, majority of whom pay large sums of money through taxes, have cried foul and are complaining about this deal.
A proper price range could have been accurately determined if well-known retailers such as Datec, Fone Haus, Digicel and other established digital and information technology (IT) distributors were consulted for quotes.
One overlooked aspect by the Government was the difference in prices between retail and wholesale purchases.
Buying items in bulk can result in significant variations compared to retail prices.
Many IT companies, including Asian businesses operating in PNG, buy in bulk from Alibaba – a business application that allows customers to purchase directly from manufacturers.
Most of these manufacturers are located in China and offer a wide range of products such as IT devices, clothing, machinery and store merchandise.
According to Alibaba’s market prices, various Android tablet models are available at different price points ranging from K116 to K334 per tablet unit.
Based on these prices, the estimated cost for one of the 22,000 tablets would K786.36.
Alibaba does offer discounts for bulk purchases – orders above 1,000 units can receive a 10 to 15 per cent discount.
The actual price variation depends on the brand and quantity of the product.
Therefore, it can be concluded that the overall cost of the tablets should have been considerably less than that quoted and paid.
On this issue of funds, spending done in the previous census years are yet to be properly audited with a report furnished to the public.
This, and any other related issues need to be sorted out before the next census is due in 2030.
Whatever the issues are, the population in the country needs to be recorded, and recorded accurately. The responsible authorities should also bear in mind that there are thousands out there waiting patiently to be counted in the hopes of being in the Government’s development agenda for the country.
Four days remain before the enumeration period ends on Sunday and many are still sceptical of its successful completion, with a few already losing hope.
We will not call it a failed exercise but remember the last one did not do so well. If this one is the same, we might have subjected the nation to two decades of population growth which exact size is not accounted for. That would be planning in the dark.