KNBS to align data collection method with international standards

Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) has embarked on revising and reviewing their data collection and collation methods to be in line with latest international standards.

This follows the completion of a report by International Monetary Fund (IMF) that urges KNBS  to develop a clear, detailed explanations of the data sources, methods and calculations used to produce the revised 2009-2019 national accounts and incorporate these into a revision report.

Last year, Kenya national bureau of statistics rebased the Kenyan economy to capture new sectors whose output has grown in recent years.

The new activities were included into the computation of the country gross domestic product, GDP. This was the seventh time Kenya’s economy has undergone rebasing, with previous ones in 1957, 1967, 1976, 1985, 2005, and 2014 and now 2021.

According to the report, the revision and rebasing national accounts resulted to an increase in the size of GDP increase in per capita income and changes in production structure and revised GDP growth rates.

IMF in its latest report is calling for review and revision of KNBS data collection and collation methods to be in line with the current trends.

They say it’s a high time KNBS adopts the latest international accounting standards as well as integrate improved data sources and methods.  In the report, KNBS have been challenged to develop clear, detailed explanations of the data sources, methods and calculations used to produce the revised 2009-2019 national accounts and incorporate these into a revision report.

IMF says KNBS needs to develop a revisions report and release the report concurrent with the revised national accounts estimates adding that the revision report should also include detailed explanations of the improved data sources methods used to produce the revised national accounts.

IMF further identifies areas for future research following the release of the revised estimates and recommends that KNBS investigate the use of taxes on products as published by the Ministry of Finance as the benchmark estimate of taxes on products in the national accounts and consider removing the stock of government securities from the stock of loans when calculating estimates of financial intermediation services indirectly measured.

The report further says that KNBS should include contextual information demonstrating how the revised estimates align with major economic events, policy implementation and related social indicators as well as a section in the revision report highlighting the revisions to both the overall level of GDP and the constant price growth rates.