Census 'dodgers' to be charged

Census boss Pali Lehohla said 16000 households that had refused to be counted would soon be served with court papers for breaking the law.

Speaking at a media conference at the Union Buildings yesterday, Lehohla said the count had gone "very, very smoothly" despite eight enumerators losing their lives and 10 others being assaulted.

With 156000 enumerators distributing about 20million questionnaires, 98.8% of the country had been covered, he said.

There were also 15 robberies and seven cases of intimidation, Lehohla said, adding that it would have been "enormously expensive" to provide enumerators with transport home at night .

He said 10% of the population would not be counted by the time the current two-week "mop-up" operation ends .

Khoi and San concerns about being forced into racial classification boxes that they did not identify with were justified, Lehohla said.

Johannes Kraalshoek of the Free State Griqua Council complained earlier that Khoi and San people were given the choice only of defining themselves as "Coloured" or "Other" by census enumerators.