National Institute of Statistics fetes Silver Jubilee April.

The Director General of NIS, Joseph Tedou, made the announcement during a press briefing in Yaounde on recently.

According to NIS boss, three major events, to bring together stakeholders from across the globe, will animate the celebrations which will hold under the patronage of Head of State, Paul Biya. 

He said the activities will be flagged off by an official opening ceremony that will be presided over by the representative of the Head of State. Tedou said the Minister of the Economy, Planning and Regional Development, MINEPAT, has been assigned to represent the Head of State.

The opening ceremony, NIS DG added, will particularly feature an inaugural speech on the contemporary challenges of official statistics in the implementation of development policies.

The opening series, the NIS chief further told reporters, will be followed by a scientific symposium that will bring together national and international experts, academics, officials of public institutions and economic stakeholders to discuss the challenges associated with the production, use and exploitation of data.

The closing ceremony which will serve as the final chapter of the series of activities, Joseph Tedou detailed, will be used to review the commemorative activities and outline the future prospects for the National Statistical System in the face of changes particularly linked to digital transformation and the growth of the data economy.

The DG said the preparation and organisation of the activities are supported by consulting and services company, Scope Consulting & Services which is assisting the structure in engaging partners and in the scientific and technical organization of the various planned activities.

Major milestone

According to Joseph Tedou, the commemoration of the institution’s 25 years of existence will mark a major milestone in the life of the institution since it was established in 2001.

The DG said the institution will be commemorating 25 years of strides in meeting up with its responsibility of ensuring the production, analysis and dissemination of the official statistics.

“Since its establishment, the NIS has played a vital role in providing public authorities, economic stakeholders and all development partners with reliable and relevant statistical information, which is essential for the formulation, monitoring and evaluation of public policies,” Tedou told reporters. 

He said through these celebrations, NIS aims not only to “highlight the progress made by the National Statistical System over the past twenty-five years, but also to strengthen the culture of data and evidence-based decision-making, which is essential to supporting our country’s development ambitions”. 

He said the Head of State’s stately backing of accepting to be the patron of the anniversary celebrations demonstrates the importance that the state attaches to the institution and official statistics.

The DG said the implementation of the National Development Strategy 2020-2030, SND30, requires the continuous availability of reliable, regular and accessible statistical data key driver for development planning, monitoring economic performance and evaluating public policies.

Tedou argued that by backing the holding of NIS’ 25th anniversary celebrations, government is once more strongly demonstrating how it values statistics as a tool that is “central to the mechanisms that enable the state to better guide public action, measure progress made and anticipate future challenges”.

Embracing new dynamics 

Asides counting the gains and reflecting on the future, Tedou told reporters that NIS will also use the anniversary celebrations to highlight its strides in embracing newer dynamics in the statistics ecosystem. 

The DG said the structure is notably adapting to data environment, statistical culture, and modernizing its statistics collection tools as the three key components of the multiple changes that it is making.

On adapting to data environment, Tedou said the structure is adjusting to meet up with the increasing sources of data collection as it deals with several other platforms contrary to institutions and households that previously existed as the two major sources.

On modernising tools and welcoming new collection mechanisms, he said the structure continues strengthening the capacities of its staff to ensure that they match up with the changes that have been brought about by technological changes. 

This article article was first published in The Guardian Post Edition No:3735 of Wednesday March 18, 2026