| Danial Norjidi |
THE Department of Economic Planning and Development (JPKE) at the Prime Minister’s Office has announced that it will be conducting the Economic Census of Enterprises (ECE) 2016 beginning this month.
The announcement was made in a press conference at JPKE, which was led by Haji Abdul Amin bin Haji Hashim, Acting Director-General of Economic Planning and Development, along with Hajah Mariah binti Haji Yahya, Director of Statistics, JPKE.
It was explained that the main objective of ECE 2016 is to collect comprehensive and updated information pertaining to the growth, contribution, composition and distribution of the economic activities undertaken by the business enterprises in the private sector.
The ECE is conducted once every five years, with the previous ECE having been conducted in 2011 for the reference year 2010.
ECE 2016 covers all active registered businesses in the country and will collect information on the economic activity, company profile, business revenue and expenditure as well as employment details for the reference year 2015.
About 8,000 companies are involved in the census, though companies which are not included in the census and known to be active are advised to contact JPKE immediately.
Haji Abdul Amin bin Haji Hashim (C), Acting Director-General of Economic Planning and Development, addressing the press conference. – DANIAL NORJIDI
Responses from the business enterprises will be treated as confidential in accordance with the Statistics Act, Chapter 81 from the Laws of Brunei Darussalam. The information will only be used for statistical purposes.
The data collected will be used in the compilation of the national accounts statistics, particularly for the calculation of the gross domestic product (GDP) to determine the latest contribution of the private sector to the country’s economic growth.
The results of the ECE 2016 will be able to assist the government in development planning and formulating policies. Apart from that, the results may also be used by the private sector businesses themselves in planning and developing their respective business activities and strategies.
The ECE 2016 questionnaires and guide for completing the questionnaire will be distributed by post, e-mail or delivered by appointed census officers starting May 2016.
The questionnaire and guide can also be downloaded from JPKE’s website.
The closing date for returning the completed questionnaires to JPKE is June 30, 2016, by post, fax, e-mail or submitted directly to JPKE. It was highlighted that the support and cooperation from all business enterprises in providing correct and complete information are essential for the success of the census.
While responding to a question on how the ECE can help the country, the acting director-general said, “When we talk about development or growth, one thing that is emphasised especially in the government as well as in industry is that information is important, because the government has put more emphasis on information-based decision-making.”
He explained that this means that “any policy or plan of action that will be considered is based on information”. It was also shared during the press conference that JPKE intends to conduct a roadshow on the ECE in all four districts this July.
Those with enquiries regarding ECE 2016 are asked to refer to JPKE via telephone at 2230250/2230251 during working hours, e-mail economic.census@jpke.gov.bn, or visit their website at www.depd.gov.bn.
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