12-MEMBER CNCUS COMMITTEE INAUGURATED (PAGE 14, APRIL 21, 2010)

A 12-member Census Implementation Committee for the Upper West Region has been inaugurated in Wa.
The committee, which has the Regional Co-ordinating Director, Mr David Yakubu, as Chairman, also has members selected from academia, media, statistical service and the regional house of chiefs, among other institutions.
The Government Statistician, Dr Grace Bediako, in a speech read on her behalf by Mr David Kombart, officer in charge of Field Operations at the Ghana Statistical Service (GSS), urged members of the committee to start work immediately.
She said the census was an important national exercise which did not only measure the size of the population, but also made available, basic information about the geographical distribution and characteristics of people.
“Census is a national exercise with unparalleled dimensions and requirements. It is also an indispensable governance tool required to ensure that democracy works. We must, therefore, do a great job for the success of the exercise”, Dr Bediako advised, and stressed the need to widen the scope and tap the expertise of all people to assist in the exercise.
On the role of the media, Dr Bediako said people’s understanding and perception of census was critical for the successful execution of the exercise and, therefore, there was the need for the media to intensify its education and sensitisation in that regard.
She further urged the various district assemblies to assist the District Census Implementation Committees with the necessary logistics to enhance the efforts of the field officers.
The deputy Upper West Regional Minister, Mr Caesar Kale, who inaugurated the committee, traced the history of a number of population and housing censuses that the country had undertaken since independence, and said the government was determined that the fifth post-independence population census would be conducted successfully by the latter part of the this year.
He explained that the country had undergone a few changes with respect to population distribution, settlement patterns and the creation of additional districts and, therefore, in order to be able to effectively track these changes, there was the need for a census.
Mr Kale further indicated that the GSS had been conducting household sample surveys but that provided estimates which could only help make inputs into the outcome of the national census.
“The continuation of such programmes, therefore, would make available essential information for the formulation, monitoring and evaluation of the country’s population and socio-economic development programmes such as the Ghana Poverty Reduction Strategy and the Millennium Development Goals”, he emphasised.
He said the results of the census would be an essential reference for the equitable distribution of the country’s resources, revision of electoral areas, constituencies, among others.
For his part, the Chairman of the committee, Mr Yakubu, charged members to rise up to the task since the success or failure of the exercise hinged on their activities.
He also, called for teamwork among committee members.