A TWELVE-MEMBER Northern Regional Census Implementation Committee (RCIC) has been inaugurated in Tamale with a call on stakeholders, particularly district assemblies, to ensure that the exercise succeeds.
The committee chaired by the Regional Co-ordinating Director, Mr Joseph Dasana, is tasked with the responsibility of ensuring the success of the 2010 population and housing census in the region.
Members of the committee were drawn from the Department of Social Welfare, Ministry of Food and Agriculture, Regional House of Chiefs, Information Services Department, Electoral Commission and the National Population Council, among other organisations.
Speaking at the inaugural ceremony, the Government Statistician, Dr Grace Bediako stated that the 2010 census was “an indispensable governance tool, required to ensure that democracy works for all and therefore we must not only succeed, but also do a great job.”
According to her, Ghana had a long history of population censuses, the first held in 1891 during the colonial era and the last, in 2000.
She stated that the intensity of work fell within a brief period of four to five weeks encompassing the training, listing of structures and actual enumeration.
“We have to depend on all communities, institutions, individuals and development partners to make this a truly national exercise of unprecedented dimensions,” Dr Bediako stressed.
She was of the view that “having conducted censuses in four decades, there should be thousands of former census enumerators, supervisors, trainers and district census officers, who have the experience that we can use in the field operations”.
Dr Bediako said the inauguration of the regional and district census committees marked the beginning of field operations.
“We have no doubt that the depth of knowledge and experience of these committee members would provide the complement of skills and competencies needed to successfully conduct the census and ensure the best quality results,” she stated.
A Member of the National Census Co-ordinating Team in charge of Field Operations, Mr David Kombat, said so far cartographic field work had been completed in all the 170 districts in the country.
He further stated that office cartographic work was expected to be completed by the end of April, 2010, adding that 36,403 enumeration areas in 165 districts had been compiled out of about 37,000 expected to be compiled.
Mr Kombat announced that an estimated 24.5 million people were expected to be enumerated.
He explained that the 2010 Population and Housing Census would provide an up-to-date socio-economic data for planning at both the national and sub-national levels.
Mr Kombat said the census would provide basic indicators to track government development policies, as well as the progress of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).
Mr Kombat said 50,000 field workers were to be recruited and trained nationwide, adding that recruitment forms were being reviewed and applicants were expected to fill the forms online.
In a speech read on behalf of the Regional Minister, Mr Moses Mabengba, he called on district assemblies to support the Ghana Statistical Service for the effective implementation of the 2010 census programme.
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