Kwale County residents have been told to be wary of fake 2019 population and housing census job advertisements circulating on social media.
County Statistics Officer Mr. Alex Munga dismissed the adverts as a scam by fraudsters since the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) was not recruiting census staff, currently.
“Beware of fraudsters out to fleece unsuspecting desperate job seekers of their money,any recruitment notices doing the rounds on social media are fabricated and should be ignored,” he told the residents at Baraza Park in Kwale town.
Munga said any job vacancies are published on the organization’s official website which is accessible to the public adding that the process will commence in June 2019 ahead of the August census.
Similar sentiments were made by Ms Lensa Apondi, a statistician at the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) during the African Statistics day held in Bomet town. She said some of the fraudsters had forged the Bureau’s logos to con members of the public adding that they were demanding Sh. 350 from job seekers.
“We appeal to all Kenyans not to send any money to anybody and later lodge complaints with the Bureau but instead report the matter to the police, chiefs or our staff based at the county level,” he stated.
Elsewhere Statisticians have urged residents of Nyandarua County to fully disclose their particulars during census and surveys to support proper planning.
County Statistics Officer Mr. Benson Mwangi noted the need for accurate and complete information that will enable planners give a fair view of the area.
“We have had challenges of getting incorrect information from the residents and this has hindered development in some areas with other information being declared as ‘cooked.’
Homa Bay County Commissioner Irungu Macharia and the County Statistics Officer Peter Ochiel cautioned residents against being hoodwinked by masqueraders who solicit funds in pretext that they were part of the census team.
Speaking in Homa Bay Town Wednesday, Macharia said some people were soliciting funds from residents on behalf of organizations they don’t work for.
“My office has a lot of information which can help our leaders make the right judgments in economic development,” said Ochiel.
Stories by Shaban Omar/James Muchai, Joseph Obwocha, Anne Sabuni, Davis Lang’at
