Survey shows 4,000 groups use statistics by GSS
A user Survey Report on the use of Statistical Data has showed that about 4,000 groups and individuals including Government, Business and the Education sectors used statistics released by the Ghana Statistical Service (GSS) between 2007 and 2011.
Other users were listed to be the Media, Civil Society Organizations (CSOs), students and individual researchers for planning and development purposes.
This was made known during the launch and dissemination of a Compendium and User Survey Report, for the Middle belt including Brong Ahafo and the Ashanti Regions in Koforidua, on Friday.
The Compendium is a compilation of standards, definitions and methods used in gathering statistical data whiles the User Satisfaction Survey was conducted to identify the needs of the users to enable the service to improve upon its products.
Mr Kofi Agyeman-Duah, Acting Deputy Government Statistician, who performed the launch, said the review and dissemination of the statistical products were supported by the World Bank to assess user’s needs.
He said the statistical service data had several key indicators including health, education and others that were key in determining the development rate in the country.
According to him, some of the views that were sampled, as part of the survey, indicated if public appreciated the GSS and hoped that the two documents would be a guide for all statistical planning and development.
Mr Kobina Abakah Ansah, the Eastern Regional Statistician, said statistics were very important and therefore needed to be accurate to serve the intended purpose and that underlined the reason for the survey and the compendium to ensure that users give a feedback to be factored into their processing and dissemination.
He observed that despite an indication that about 4,000 groups and individuals used their statistics, there was the need to educate the public on the availability of such statistics, adding that, the launch of the compendium and the report were strategies to achieve that goal.
Dr Smile Dzisi, a lecturer at the Koforidua Polytechnic, who chaired the function, urged the GSS to make the compendium and their statistical data available on the internet because it was the fastest way to access information.
She noted that often data or information was difficult to come by not because it did not exist but due to the traditional ways of accessing them, through hard copies.
She commended the GSS for reviewing their activities through the survey and the compendium to get users feedback as well as measure the extent to which supply of statistics met demands and hoped that the dissemination would go a long way to facilitate accessibility.
Source: GNA