The National Statistical Office (NSO) plays the coordinating role within the National Statistical System (NSS) with specific mandates supported by legislation. In Trinidad and Tobago, the Central Statistical Office (CSO), according to the Statistics Act, is tasked with this coordinating role. In recent times, the CSO has been proactive in initiating a number of activities to overcome its much touted challenges in performing this function.
As part of the plan to enhance the NSS in Trinidad and Tobago, the Government has committed to transforming the CSO to an independent National Statistical Institute (NSITT) to meet the growing demands for official statistics in Trinidad and Tobago. This process is well underway and a Government appointed Task Force has presented recommendations which are being undertaken by the Ministry of Planning and Development.
The CSO is transitioning to an NSI at an opportune time in history. The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development is underway and the Transformative Agenda for Official Statistics, which is being pursued in support of the 2030 Agenda, calls for the modernization of statistical systems. Therefore, the new statistical institute will not only respond to current needs but also be built to anticipate and address future demands on the system for data and statistics using modern technology and advanced methods while upholding the Fundamental Principles of Official Statistics by which national statistics are guided.
In an effort to achieve this goal, the CSO is undergoing a series of seminars with stakeholders within the National Statistical System. A number of areas of high importance to national development have already been targeted such as agriculture, health and for the week of September 25 Trade Statistics and International Standards for Industrial Classifications.
The Economic Statistics Division, which is a department within the Central Statistical Office comprises three (3) sections, the Tourism and Travel Statistics Section, the Economic Indicators Section and the Trade Statistics Section. However, the key suppliers of our data to this division, customs brokers, are not fully aware of the standards that are outlined by the International Merchandise Trade Statistics Manual of the UN, and as such do not supply the data in the required format. This impacts the quality of data produced by the Division and therefore a work shop was conducted during the week of September 25, 2018 to sensitize customs brokers and representatives of the Customs and Excise Department of the importance of supplying the data in the correct format to the Trade Statistics Division. Discussed were issues regarding the definitions of various customs terms, the Global UN standards for trade statistics, the different forms and documents used for collecting and submitting information to the CSO. The objective of these workshops is to create a standardised, connected NSS with all stakeholders possessing an understanding of what is required for national and international statistical reporting. Other NSS stakeholders present in this meeting included representatives of the Ministry of Finance, the Customs and Excise Division, the Ministry of Trade and Industry, the Customs Brokers Board and the Project Implementation Team of the Revenue Authority.
During this same period, the CSO also conducted a workshop on international standard industrial classification with representatives of the University of the West Indies, the Central Bank of Trinidad and Tobago, the National Insurance Board, the Board of Inland Revenue and other Government stakeholders. The aim was to also standardise statistical reporting mechanisms to ensure that the information presented to the CSO for use met the rigours of the national and international standards.
As the national statistical agency, the CSO is responsible for planning activities to train users of the classification, for updating and/or revising the classification, as well as for ensuring that the necessary funds can be made available for this work. The CSO is therefore required to liaise with its stakeholders to inform, guide and train data users in this newly adopted classification system. The use of the new statistical classification system will work to enhance policy decisions and their relevant implementation. Its adoption also ensures that the economic statistics programme remain relevant in the global economy.