 Director and staff of the Central Statistics Office appealed for public cooperation as they worked towards completing the enumeration process for the national population and housing census 2022. Sean Mathre, director at the Central Statistics Office, expressed that those certain challenges were anticipated. The magnitude of these challenges were unprecedented. Some of those challenges relate to the enumerator and supervisor dropouts. This is something that we did anticipate, but not to the extent that it has played out. This round of censuses, the extent to which the enumerator and supervisors have dropped out have been unprecedented. Mathre noted that the challenges faced by St. Lucia are not unique, as a recent meeting of Caricum chief statisticians and directors revealed similar issues in other territories, with some ascribing the socio-economic fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic as a key contributor. The situation with regards to the cooperation from the public seems to be one that is unparalleled. There is almost some sort of mistrust, negativity, some hostility out there exhibited by some of the respondents towards the enumerators. This is nothing new to pass censuses, but this time around, again, is the extent and magnitude to which this thing has been played out this time around. We all have a green shirt, and we all carry an ID card, and some of us have bags too. District manager for Grozely 3, Stephanie Marshall Constantine, said to minimize resistance and build public trust that enumerators can be easily identified via t-shirts and IDs bearing the census logo. She lamented some of the difficulties experienced by some enumerators who reported insults and threats of violence directed at them, and even dogs being let loose in their direction. So I just want to encourage people to take part in the census. It's very important, very vital for St. Lucia. It's like the framework for all other surveys. That is the framework that will be used for other surveys. So I just want people to come out. At least if you don't want us to interview, you can just tell us the number of persons in the house so we can have a con for the population. Despite the challenges faced on the ground, the Central Statistics Office is projecting completion of the enumeration process by September 2023, as they employ agile methods to address the constantly changing variables. So we have been in a position or situation where we have to continuously adapt our measures and our approaches to attending to those challenging issues and to ensure that at the end of the day that the implementation of the census is a successful initiative and that the data that is collected, the integrity is intact, it's sound and reliable. Mathryn added that many of the districts including Viewfort have been completed. He had high praise for members of the public who have made themselves available to provide the information necessary to make the national population and housing census a success. I would also like to appeal to those persons who have not been enumerated or visited by our enumerators that when the respective households are visited by the enumerators that they cooperate and provide the information that is required. Individuals who have not been enumerated and would like to be part of the census are invited to contact the Central Statistics Office at 4681577 or WhatsApp 2873295. You can also visit the Central Statistics Office on Facebook and Instagram. For the National Competitiveness and Productivity Council, Glenn Simon reporting.