Tokelau Statistics Unit

The Tokelau Statistics Unit is under the umbrella of the Office of the Council for the Ongoing Government of Tokelau based in Apia, Samoa. The are a number of various divisions within the Office of the Council including;
1. Foreign Relations
2. Legal Services
3. Servicing the Council (similar to Cabinet)
4. Servicing the General Fono (similar to Parliament)
5. Human Resource Management
6. Statistics
7. Communications

STRUCTURE

All the various divisions of the Office of the Council are under the management and leadership of the Officer in Charge of the office.

In the area of statistics alone, there is only one staff reporting directly to the Officer in Charge. Due to the nature of statistics in terms of working with outside organizations, advocacy and preparation of policy papers to Council or General Fono, it work very closely with other divisions within the office to ensure they are effectively implemented.

Since there is only one staff working in the area of statistics, therefore there is no internal structure or office specifically for statistical issues. To ensure that statistical information collected such as those collected during the census reached the three communities in Tokelau, there have to be a mechanism for that.

The statistic unit based in Apia work very closely with local council offices on each island in disseminating information and educating the public on the importance of statistics in decision making and development. This relationship is stronger than in the past due to more statistical activities in which the three communities are involved with.

One of the biggest challenges the statistics unit is facing at the moment is coordinating statistical information within each government department. There is no mechanism in place so that all department data can be stored and managed by the statistic unit. This area needs high level dialoging.

STAFFING

At the moment there is only one staff working on a part-time basis on statistics. Areas this staff concentrates on are;
1. Human Resources Management (also working alone on HRM issues)
2. Foreign Relations
3. Statistics/Census
4. Maintaining PRISM website