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Mr Joseph D. Chognuru, Director, Financial Sector Division of Ministry of Finance, declaring the 2010 Population & Housing Census Report duly launched.

African Statistics Day marked in Accra

The Director of the Financial Services Division at the Ministry of Finance, Mr Joseph Chognuru, has stated the need for the statistics units of the various ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) to be resourced and strengthened.

Well-resourced statistics units, he said, would support the effort of the Ghana Statistical Service (GSS) and other stakeholders to meet the ever-increasing demand for data in the country.

Mr Chognuru made the call at a ceremony in Accra yesterday to mark the 2014 African Statistics Day. 

It was on the theme, “Open Data for Accountability and Inclusiveness”. 

The event, organised by the GSS, also marked the launch of the 2010 Population  and Housing Census Report.

The African Statistics Day is marked on November 18 every year to raise awareness among the public of the important role that statistics play in all aspects of life.

National statistical system 

Mr Chognuru indicated that the various Statistical units had over the years not received the support they needed to function effectively.

To that end, he said the national statistical system was being renewed, with support from some development partners through the World Bank and a credit from the International Development Association (IDA).

Data for accountability

On open data inclusiveness, he said the move would improve the inclusiveness of citizens in the decision-making process, as they would be fed with the needed information to enable them to participate in public decision making.

He said by involving citizens in decision making, the government could achieve more efficient and equitable outcomes for development programmes. 

Mr Chognuru said there was the need, therefore, to remove the barriers hindering access to information to facilitate effective political participation by well-informed citizens.

For her part, the Government Statistician, Dr Philomena Nyarko, pledged the commitment of the GSS to work hard to provide reliable, quality, objective and timely statistics for public consumption.

 

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