The Ghana Statistical Service (GSS) has projected a population count of about 31 million people in the upcoming 14-day Population and Housing Census (PHC) scheduled for 2021.
It has therefore tasked personnel who will participate in the exercise to be mindful of the vast nature of the task ahead and rise to the occasion.
The conduct of the census is in line with the objectives of GSS to provide quality, relevant, accurate and timely statistical information (Data) for the purpose of national development as preconditioned in Clause 3 of the Statistical Service Act. 2019 (Act 1003).
Government Statistician, Professor Samuel Kobina Annim, made this remarks at the closing day of eight-day training for 108 Master trainers at Winneba.
The last day of the face-to-face training organized by the GSS followed a series of virtual engagements with the master trainers. This was to prepare them to train enumerators, supervisors and many others for commencement of the census next year.
Prof Annim asked the trainers to endeavor to play their roles effectively to achieve the aims of the national census, adding that “everyone will be counted once at the right time and at the right place”.
He outlined some of the priority areas of the training to focus on when retraining of other personnel for the exercise will be scheduled. These areas include; contextualizing training to suit different parts of the country and further stressed that, integrity and honesty should be upheld at all levels of their engagement with other trainers and field officers.
“Remember that it is important that public trust and confidence in the census data is critical and you should ensure that it is achieved”, he noted.
Head of Census Methodology, Mr. Owusu Kagya, stated that the country needed quality data to facilitate its development and thus, the census was meant to provide the required data. In view of that, he urged the officers to do everything necessary to make it possible.
Buttressing the points of the other speakers, the Co-chairman of the National Census Technical Advisory Committee, Professor Kofi Awusabo-Asare, expounded that censuses serves as the source of reliable and good quality data for planning which was the foundation for achieving national goals.
He urged them to gather good, quality data so as to deepen public confidence in the system.
The 2021 Population and Housing Census curriculum will be reviewed by Professors and Doctors of the Academia from the University of Ghana Regional Institute for Population Studies, and the University of Cape Coast’s Department of Population and Health.
Personalities who were also in attendance included; Mrs. Araba Forson, Acting Government Statistician in charge of operations, she is also the chairperson of the National Census Technical Advisory Committee on recruitment and training, Prof Stephen Owusu Kwankye, Head of the Recruitment and Training, Mrs. Abena Osei-Akoto, Head of Publicity for the 2021 PHC, and Mr. Emmanuel George Ossei, Head of the National Census Secretariat.
According to the 2010 Population and Housing Census, Ghana had a total population of 24,658,823, a 30.4% increase from the 18,912,079 persons counted in during the 2000 PHC.
