Cape Coast, Thursday, April 22, GNA – The Ghana Statistical Service has assured Ghanaians that it was putting in place adequate measures and processes that would support credible census.
Professor Samuel Kobina Annim, the Government Statistician and Chief Census Officer who gave the assurance at a press briefing in Cape Coast on Wednesday implored Ghanaians to support the Service to carry out a successful exercise by participating in it.
He said the GSS among other things had put in place a Work Load Management System to identify highly populated areas ahead of the data collection to ensure that every Ghanaian was captured within the stipulated two weeks exercise.
The 2021 Population and Housing Census (PHC) which is expected to cost the country GH¢ 521 million would commence on Monday, June 28, and would last for two weeks.
Sunday, June 27, has been declared the Census night.
The exercise would involve the use of Computer Assisted Personal Interviewing devices (tablets) for electronic data capture and Geographic Positioning Systems (GPS) for recording coordinates of structures as recommended by the United Nations.
The devices, according to Prof Annim had useful materials, software, and maps that would ensure swift information delivery.
Prof Annim indicated that this year’s Census would largely depend on the use of computer-assisted personal interviews and Global Positioning System (GPS) coordination for all structures and communities.
He said the GSS was seeking to recruit, train and deploy 75,000 field enumerators as well as 11,020 supervisors to ensure that the data was collected within the stipulated two weeks.
He underscored the importance of the census and said the conduct of the 2021 PHC would help achieve a national set of goals.
‘Data from the 2021 PHC will be used among others in the following areas such decision-making and policy, development, housing, geography, water and sanitation, utilities and energy, business, education, demographic, ICT, health and well-being, labour force, and socio-economic’, he said.
Professor Annim stated that to save cost, the Service was in discussion with the Electoral Commission (EC) to use the Personal Protective Equipment (PPE’s) such as the thermometer guns and Veronica buckets that were used for the elections.
He asked Ghanaians to look at the larger benefits the exercise would bring to the nation than focusing so much on the cost involved in carrying out the exercise.
GNA
