CENSUS, KEY FOR DEVELOPMENT (JULY 22, 2009)

THE Ghana Statistical Service (GSS) has a constitutional mandate to conduct a census of the population of Ghana at regular intervals for purposes of promoting even and equitable development.
Article 47 Clause 5 of our Constitution places this injunction on the GSS when it says, “The Electoral Commission shall review the division of Ghana into constituencies at intervals not less than seven years or within 12 months after the publication of enumeration figures after the holding of a census of the population of Ghana, which ever is earlier, and may, as a result, alter the constituencies.”
Besides helping the government to determine the distribution of scarce national resources, the enumeration figures play a key part in facilitating participatory democracy.
Just as these figures guide the Electoral Commission in altering electoral boundaries, they also assist the government to create more districts and thereby bring governance to the doorstep of the people.
For this reason, many countries have made it a point to conduct censuses at least in 10-year intervals. In Ghana, post-independence censuses were conducted in 1960, 1974, 1984 and 2000.
With the release of money for next year’s census, it appears that once again we want to be consistent with the programme for the holding of censuses in line with the policy immediately after independence.
Reliable data play a key role in the distribution of key resources and the identification of the special needs of especially vulnerable groups in our society.
It is sad that most of our para-statals and private organisations do not keep up-to-date data. It is always a big headache for students, researchers and members of the public to access reliable data from our institutions.
That is why the DAILY GRAPHIC thinks that the resources being mobilised for next year’s population and housing census is in the right direction, as the census will provide reliable data on demography and socio-economic characteristics of our society.
The DAILY GRAPHIC is encouraged that once again the census has a component that deals with housing so that the data so collected can assist our development planners in designing well-planned communities.
As of now there appears to be confusion in the housing industry, as spatial planning of our communities does not subscribe to any standard regulation.
We call on the GSS to approach its work with diligence to ensure that the government has value for money.
The holding of a census in any country is always an emotive exercise, as there appears to be a correlation between enumeration figures and the distribution of development projects.
In the past, traditional authorities and religious leaders engaged each other in needless debate after the release of census figures. It is the belief in certain areas that the number of people in those areas will determine the quantum of development projects that the government will provide for those communities.
The census is not a contest among geographical areas or groups. It is only a development tool to assist the government in the distribution of the country’s scarce resources, such that every Ghanaian will feel a sense of belonging.