JOHANNESBURG - Statistics as a summative tapestry of what has happened and as instruments for prediction has never been so much in the face of society as is in 2020.
Health Minister Dr Zweli Mkhize reports to us daily on how many people have contracted coronavirus,how many have died and how many have recovered.
Coronavirus is intriguing because we are looking at small numbers and paying very serious attention. It goes to show what the threat of death can inspire.
Alfred Nobel had his obituary written whilst he was alive. He was labeled as the angel of death because he manufactured explosives and that is where his fortune came from.
Realising what deeds will follow his death he dedicated his fortunes to those who were immersed in the pursuit of knowledge for the good of humankind and established the Nobel Peace Prize.
The world is faced with a similar moment.
We have to pay meticulous attention and hold each other accountable to see ourselves through this crisis.
Censuses and surveys tell a very interesting tale that may shed light and describe some of our personal relationships.
In a lockdown, domestic violence can be easily exacerbated as people are forced together in confined spaces.
One interesting statistic that I have discussed a number of times is conjugal rights and responsibilities of South African adults. Sixty percent of fathers report to be in nuptial unions against thirty percent of mothers.
This is a really stark figure where nature reflects its force. Males are born and the sex ratio ranges from 102 -105 for every 100 females except China where preference for males makes the ratio much higher.
But when these births reach 18 years of age, the numbers get equal, thus providing a male for every female to marry.
How then does it come that in South Africa twice as many fathers say they are married against mothers?
In fact these numbers are supported by the fact that two thirds of the birth certificates do not have the name of the father.
In many censuses, these fathers have often been in transit and cannot be pinned down. You miss them in the quality control survey.
They are the mobile males. So what has this to do with the coronavirus lockdown? For 21 days and possibly more, the revelation of the veracity of these exaggerated claims by fathers will be tested and confirmed by the infrastructure they are found in. This can be possible only if Statistician-General Maluleke could run a census now so that we can compute the statistics of what is happening. The Nobel moment could shine for South African fathers, possibly giving children a different future.
Coronavirus is sailing too close to secrets and should not go to waste.
Dr Pali Lehohla is the former Statistician-General and the former head of Statistics South Africa.