Kumasi, June 23, GNA – The Ghana Statistical Service (GSS) has listed more than 90 per cent of structures in the Ashanti Region as part of activities for the 2021 Population and Housing Census (PHC).
Mr Kobina Abaka Ansah, the Regional Statistician, said those structures listed included those in slums, adding that the authorities had devised a strategy to capture the data of all structures and people in the Region.
The GSS since Sunday, June 13, had been conducting the listing of structures in the Region, as its field officers moved to various houses to take vital information concerning the households.
Mr Abaka Ansah, in an interview with the Ghana News Agency (GNA) in Kumasi, said the listing of the structures was serving as a prelude to the official take-off of the Census on Sunday, June 27.
In all, about six million people in the Region are targeted for counting in this year’s Census, according to the Regional Statistician.
On the relevance of the exercise, he said the records captured in the Census were critical in the socio-economic planning of the country.
It was also important in providing the basis for splitting bigger districts into smaller ones, and carving new constituencies, while providing information about the update of health, education, and sanitation, among others.
The 2021 PHC is expected to provide important information to support the evidence-based implementation of the national development agenda.
Additionally, it is to support the tracking of achievements of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and Agenda 2063 of the African Union.
Mr Abaka Ansah told the GNA that some of the challenges encountered by the GSS’ field officials were the reluctance of some people to patronize the exercise, and giving out accurate information.
He called on the people to avail themselves of the exercise since the PHC was critical in the development agenda of the nation.
