UN commends GSS for producing quality statistical data
Dr Bernard Cocuelin, United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) Country Representative, has lauded the Ghana Statistical Service (GSS) for the quality of data it produces, which had made it a reference point for countries in Africa and beyond.
“When it comes to quality of statistics, including compliance with international standards, methodological soundness and accessibility, the leadership role of the GSS cannot be underestimated,” he said.
Dr Coquelin, who was speaking during the celebration of the Africa Statistics Day on Wednesday, urged GSS to continue with its good works since a lot of countries, especially in Africa, had made it their reference point.
He appealed to the leadership of GSS to remain vigilant and ensure that prevailing resource constraints did not lead them to compromise the production of quality statistics and also erode the independence and integrity of the national statistical system in the country.
The commemoration of the Africa Statistics Day was initiated in 1990 at the United Nations to commemorate and increase public awareness over the important role of statistics in all aspects of social and economic lives in Africa.
This year’s celebration, which was on the theme; “Quality Data to Support African Progress,” focused on data quality which is an essential tool for monitoring the achievements of national development plans and international goals such as the Millennium Development Goals and the International Conference on Population and Development.
Dr Philomena Nyarko, Government Statistician, lauded the crucial role data plays in policy formulation, adding that without quality data, it would be impossible for governments or businesses to function optimally.
She said although a lot of African countries had improved on the quality of statistics they produced, a lot more were needed to be done to improve the timeliness dissemination and credibility of their data.
Dr Nyarko expressed her appreciation to Government and development partners for helping GSS to complete the first phase of the Ghana Statistics Development Plan (GSDP) which had helped in strengthening its statistical functions.
“The rebasing of the Gross Domestic Product and the Consumer Price Index are all important outputs from the first phase of the GSDP,” she said.
She said plans were far advanced for the implementation of the second phase which would involve the development of an entire national statistical system and also give support to the implementation of some planned statistical activities.
Mr Kweku Rickett-Hagan, Deputy Minister of Finance, used the occasion to launch five out of 13 thematic reports (monographs) which had been developed from the 2010 census data.
The monographs were on Children, Adolescent and Youth in Ghana, Women and Men in Ghana, Elderly in Ghana, and Non-Monetary Poverty in Ghana.
Source: GNA