The Vice President of the Republic on Tuesday urged development partners to support financially the country’s first population and housing census due in 2014 to prepare for the 2015 elections.
Riek Machar Teny told donors in a meeting in Juba that the Government was putting 19 million US dollars to start the first phase of census project, but it needed another 19 million.Dr Machar said the census was crucial for planning and that the government allocated the money even though it faced a fiscal deficit due to the austerity budget.
He added that the census should mainly be funded by the Government but the current situation makes it hard for the country to do it alone.
Dr Machar said the Census 2014 was a Constitutional requirement, which asked for a new head count before the general elections in 2015.
The whole census operation will cost over 92 million US Dollars.