MPs during a session at Parliament chambers. PHOTO | FILE Parliament has launched an inquiry into the delay in release of data capturing performance of the economy and the jobs market by the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS).
The National Assembly wants to know the reasons for the delay and non-release of official statistics including the Annual Economic Survey 2021, Leading Economic Indicators report, the Quarterly Gross Domestic Product (QGDP) report, Quarterly jobs report and other official statistics.
Speaker Justin Muturi has directed the Finance and National Planning Committee to file a response to the House within the next 14 days.
Mr Muturi sanctioned the inquiry following a request by Garissa Township MP Aden Duale who drew the attention of the House to the breach of the Statistics Act by the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS).
Mr Duale said the KNBS had breached provisions of the Statistics Act and the Constitution by either delaying or refusing to release the reports.
He said the annual Economic Survey 2021, was to be released by April 30, 2021 to inform Parliament and the National Treasury on the processing of annual budget estimates for the financial 2021/22 and the medium term.
“The official Annual Economic Survey 2021 has not been published,” Mr Duale said.
KNBS said earlier the delay in releasing the Economic Survey 2021 was due to late submission of data by some of respondents in economic sectors.
The lawmaker also named the Monthly Leading Economic Indicators report which highlights changes in consumer price indices (CPI) and inflation, interest and exchange rates.
“The bureau has persistently delayed releasing the leading economic indicators and although the report was due in February, 2021, it is yet to be published,” he said.
The third report that Mr Duale claimed to have been delayed is the Quarterly Gross Domestic Product (QGDP).He said KNBS is required to publish a quarterly gross domestic product (GDP) report within 90 days after the end of each quarter.“The QGDP report is critical in informing the government and private sector how various sectors of the economy performed and guide both the government and private sector in planning.“However, despite these timelines, the bureau is yet to publish the fourth QGDP report for the calendar year 2020 and the first quarter for the calendar year 2021,” Mr Duale said.He said whereas section 14 of the Statistics Act requires the KNBS board to within four months after the end of the financial year, […]
