Krasniqi: Population census going third time towards failure

The former chief executive of the Kosovo Statistics Agency, Isa Krasniqi, has reacted to the population registration process.

He through a scripture has warned that the census is going towards the third failure by listing some challenges and obstacles under him that the ongoing project will inevitably fail.

Full response:

At first, I seek the understanding of the broad opinion so that I can understand this as a civic response, without a political, party position, or position that I have at present, and the position I once had. So my wish is for the census of popularity in the Republic of Kosovo to be realised, as I consider it to be of primary interest to the country.

It is known that the Population Recording Project, Family Economy and Apartments is a capital project for a state, but based on processes so far, from certain parties, I have not noticed that this project is considered a top state interest.

Based on the approach of this project as high state interest, I cannot keep silent and not warn, or even alarm, that population registration is heading towards third failure. Therefore, I am quick to list the challenges or obstacles of (without any overachieving) that the ongoing project will fail (inexplicably).

First

My first two years for the Population Recording Bill, Family Economics and Houses, and the project planning process in particular, has not been considered at all, so two consecutive failures of this project took place last year.

Second

There are serious problems and obstacles to functionalisation and the prosperity of the Communist census commissions, due to inadequate co-ordination from the Population Record Center. Despite clear guidelines for the Population Record Guide on paper, there are serious problems on the ground, whether in disrespect of inter-institute competencies or in motivating members of these KKRs, or in neglect that is presented by the Population Record Center, and the last recorder in this chain process.

Third

There are serious problems with staff recruiting in general, but even worse in recruiting censuses throughout the territory of the Republic of Kosovo. The failure of a registry district will fail to register at the Communist level, much worse when this is likely to occur in many registers and in many communities.

fourth

Most applicants, especially those for the registry, but even members of the KKR, still don't have it clear, how much they'll be compensated for, what sensitive and responsible work they're waiting for in the field, up to the amount of questionnaires I can complete within the day. There's risk there won't be enough applicants for the recorder. There is also danger that recorders fail within a family economy, village or city neighbourhood, to the level of the Registering District, because it is already an undeniable fact that the emptying of homes and residences of Kosovo residents will not be able to meet many questionnaires regarding family economy parameters and important household and housing parameters. When the recorders from these problems on the field are going to miss all day and normally it won't be paid for empty questionnaires, then we're going to have a massive evacuation of censusors from work and therefore the failure of population registration will be prior to the fact.

Fifth

According to international standards, the internationally acceptable population census cannot be if the registration process lasts months because the fundamental principle of comparison for official statistics in these cases is considered severely violated.

Sixth

The process of self - control has not been established by the Population Record Center. This also means the important component of the harmonisation and division of responsibilities, from the center to the recorder in the field. Consequently, this will bring about the whole population registration process in the first few days.

Seventh

The Information Population Record Management System, that is, including the app with all questionnaires, questionnaire forms, digital maps, saving data collected on the tablet, broadcasting on the server's database, properly functioning of all this undesigned interconnected interconnection of interactions will be questioned in the field.

eighth

Family of the Information System, especially the forms of app installed on each tablet, both recorders, supervisors, and controllers, is crucial because, without this effective familiarization and training of tablets, most of the staff engaged in the data collection field will fail.

9th

The permanent operation, and with maximum transmission capacity, of the telecommunication nets of mobile operators, whether of the Vala or IPKO network, is one of the determining elements of (non-responsion of collection and transmission of data on the server. The inability of this network, despite temporary data storage on the tablet, represents the narrow neck of downloading data on the server and the obstacle to the recorder's implementation of his work on the ground. This decomposes staff and brings their release of work. Above all, this also poses a risk of personal data security stored on the tablet for a longer time than has been planned and the permanent risk of the overall risk of population registration data.

10th

The questionnaire on war damage, for collecting data with over 25 years of time, added to the Population Record Question, regardless of good intentions, represents violations of European and international standards, from Article 7 and Article 13, paragraph 2, of the Law on Official Statistics, and not only risk that the census is declared outside international standards but also against law. As a result, all the data from this record would be declared useless, while spending all that budgetary resources would be a waste. On the other hand, allowing the questionnaire for war damages would create the possibility of circuits designed to manipulate the Senate of different communities, to multiply the number of war damages and the number of fugitives outside the Republic of Kosovo in Serbia. Just this opportunity offered, the Serbian Vuqi regime would be severely misused.

11th

It is now known that by the decisions of relevant institutions, there will be voting in the four northern municipalities of the Republic of Kosovo on 21 April 2024. Article 22, paragraph 3, of the Law on Population Recording does not allow the census whether there are central or local electoral or similar activities at the 6-month border near election date or voting. Thus, by law, the census would be declared illegal and constitutionally stipulates the postponement of the census for more favourable and legal circumstances.

Twelve.

The process of recruiting supervisors and census recorders, generally in most of the censuses, especially in the QR in the four northern municipalities of the Republic of Kosovo, has not gone through the process of testing, competition, recruiting interviews and verification. Therefore, everyone's eventual involvement in the collection of wireless data in the field presents great potential of cyber intervention and attacks, not only from Serbia, but even beyond. Thus, the population census would turn into a cyber-war arena in the middle of Kosovo on one side and cyber offensive on the other.

The thirteenth

The important thing is, the population census should not be carried out in vain, to say that a project was also carried out. No. The slightest harm is to fail for the third time this Population Recording, rather than just saying we did the recording. The state of Kosovo, institutions, policymakers, strategies and future development programmes in the economy, education, health, security, agriculture, social welfare, justice, the academic world and in every area of life, need precise, quality, useable and creditable data to send all vital issues to the state forward. With statistics broken and gone, with false statistics, our country would experience stable and secure regregations.