By Vernon Wessels

Johannesburg - Statistics SA planned to stop using postal surveys to collect inflation data and would use field surveys, which were more up to date and accurate, Pali Lehohla, the statistician-general, said yesterday.

Most countries used field surveys to gather inflation data but a lack of funds had forced Stats SA to rely on postal surveys.

It wanted to monitor price changes with scanners that statisticians would use to measure the fluctuations on selected products at retail outlets, he said.

"I am not suggesting the information we obtain from a storekeeper is not reliable. But it is better to collect information yourself.

"By going to a store with a scanner and gathering the information, we also lend more credence to our data," Lehohla said.

Stats SA was testing the new field surveys and had given itself 18 months to complete the move. "This is major surgery and not a decision that we want to take lightly," he said.

Logistical issues, such as ensuring that all the regions that collected information had scanners, batteries and properly trained staff would also need to be looked at, Lehohla said.

He was confident that the inflation data being produced by Stats SA was credible despite concerns about the consumer price index after an error in the measurement of rental costs.

"There should not be uncertainty regarding the inflation data. The statistics we produce are continually improving ... it is a necessary evil," Lehohla said.

Stats SA, the government and the Statistics Council, which overseas the agency, have embarked on a major review of what data would suit the country's social and economic needs.

Lehohla said the national statistical agency would continue using secondary sources to measure rental costs in the consumer inflation basket until it could again start collecting the information itself through household surveys.

It would take another six months before a final decision was made on the rental data. "We are satisfied with the quality of the data we are receiving on rentals. If we were not happy with it we would not be using it," he added.

The data, however, did not measure rentals charged in rural areas although this reflected the CPIX, which is headline inflation less mortgage costs.

"The CPIX is based on metropolitan areas but we need a more representative measure that will cover the entire housing market."

In the next two months the government, the council and Stats SA would debate whether a full-scale census is needed every five years, given the R1 billion bill that accompanied Census 2001.