Boundaries Commissioner Symister calls for overdue census to take place, as, without it, the Government is just ‘driving blind’

Attorney-at-law Leon Chaku Symister is calling for the long overdue
census to take place, given that the last one was conducted since
2011.

He says this exercise is vital if several other functions and
undertakings are to take place, including the redrawing of electoral
boundaries by the Antigua and Barbuda Boundaries Commission
and the re-registration of eligible voters.

Symister, a member of the Commission since 2021, says it has
already made its recommendations and submitted its report to the
Parliament.
 
The census is an important tool to determine not only the
population size but how citizens and residents live, he explains. It
also informs the Government’s planning, in terms of the services it
provides, and its policies and programmes.
 
As the attorney puts it, without a census the government is “driving
blind.”

Symister says the Government should ensure that a new census is
carried out because it is the right thing to do.

Meanwhile, according to him, once the new census is completed,
then the Boundaries Commission can proceed with its
recommendations for changes to the existing boundaries.

Boundaries Commissioner Leon Chaku Symister.