3. Evaluation of the data collected and the methodology used

Overall, the available limited data provides an indication of the state of the wood products consumption and trade in Namibia. The little data available is certainly better than no data at all. It is not easy to give figures on the accuracy of the data. However, when looking at these data the following points must be borne in mind:

Some of these data are based on surveys which may not be representative. For example, some of the data on firewood is based on a survey carried out in June 1996 mainly in the northern regions of the country. The town surveyed were Windhoek, Ondangwa, Oshakati, Ongwediva and Rundu. The southern regions were not included in the survey. The data are therefore not representative of the country.

The data from the Directorate of Forestry Permit system and other official statistics may not reflect the true quantities exported or imported. An exporter’s permit, for example, indicates the quantity the exporter is allowed to export, but since, for example, the firewood or charcoal weight is not verified by the relevant authorities either at the point of loading or at the border exit, the reported figures may be under- or over- statements from the actual figures. Presently this error is unknown.

There seems to be some inconsistencies in the Import/Export data from Customs and Excise. E.g., increase in sawnwood imports from 85,445 Kg in 1997 to 500,190,735 Kg in 1998. This can be due to some mistyping errors when entering data from the Customs forms, e.g. 5,190,735 typed as 500,190,735.

There might be double reporting of data. People obtaining export permits at forestry may have reported the same quantities to Customs and Excise.

There is an apparent inconsistency that Namibia exports wood products. There is confusion between export and import data in that the same wood product categories imported are exactly the same as those exported. Namibia does not produce most of the wood products reported as exported (Tables 9a and 9b).

The CBS expressed reservations regarding the accuracy and reliability of the import/export data. The data needs to be verified for typing errors, coding errors and other errors.

The categorisation of items exported/imported into the major categories such as Household and Sanitary, Newsprint, Paper and Paperboard, Particleboard, Wrapping and Packaging etc is source of error. In some cases, there is some doubt as to which category an item should be assigned. There is need to agree on itemisation into categories by all relevant authorities.

There is no existing system of national data collection, analysis and dissemination. However, the following points may be considered as advantages towards the development of a system for statistics on wood products:

Various institutions are engaged in trade and utilisation of wood products (See Appendix 1). These companies record their production data, which is not readily accessible to the public. These organisations need to be surveyed periodically.

There are several institutions collecting data on wood products in Namibia. They have both the manpower capacity and equipment. The organisations directly involved in forestry data collection are:

Ministry of Environment and Tourism (Directorate of Forestry). The Directorate of Forestry is the main institution responsible for forestry development in Namibia. It has the Forest Inventory and Mapping Section, which is involved in carrying out forest inventory. There is also the National Remote Sensing Centre engaged in various projects related to forestry data collection. However, these sections do not collect data on production, consumption and trade of wood products. The Directorate of Forestry has established a Permit System at the Windhoek District Forestry Office to capture data from issues of forest permits. Similar subsystems will be set up shortly at Grootfontein and Ongwediva Forestry Offices to feed into the System at Windhoek. The Directorate of Forestry, through its Forest Permit System has made an initial step towards the improvement of forestry statistics in Namibia.

Ministry of Trade and Industry (Import/Export Permits). They have the data on the companies dealing commercially in wood products.

Ministry of Finance (Customs and Excise). They record data on imports/exports and forward it to national Planning Commission Secretariat.

National Planning Commission Secretariat (Central Bureau of Statistics). One of the duties of the Secretariat is co-ordinating data collection, processing and dissemination. (NDP1 1995/1996-1999/2000). They store the data, from Customs & Excise, on wood products imports and exports with a view to analyse it for national planning purposes.

The main weakness is that there is no existing co-ordinated system of national data collection, analysis and dissemination involving all the above institutions to compile the information into one comprehensive document, say annually, for users. Consequently, at present it is not easy to obtain a publication providing information on wood products consumption, imports/exports, trade etc. in Namibia.

In the case of the Directorate of Forestry, most of the data on wood production is recorded in the form of correspondence. Some correspondence has been misfiled making it difficult to access the information.

Now there is no single publication on wood products statistics in Namibia. The various organisations engaged in the collection of forestry data do not publish this information.

In the case of the Directorate of Forestry, information from the Permit System is incorporated into the annual reports, which are disseminated to various government ministries and other interested organisations. In addition, if any forestry data is to be released to the press this is done through the ministry’s Public Relations Office.