The Ghana Statistical Service (GSS) says it lacks the financial resources to start preparations for next year’s population and housing census.
According to a report of the Finance Committee of Parliament, as at end of May 2019, the service had received GHc 16.9 million out of a total budgeted amount of GHc 477 million.
The matter was brought up on the floor of Parliament, during a debate at the second reading stage of the Statistics Bill currently before Parliament.
Dr. Mark Assibey-Yeboah, Chairman of the Finance Committee, complained that the GHc16.9 million was “woefully inadequate to even initiate preparatory works towards the census exercise.”
He relayed the Service’s reminder that it was also mandated to carry out other censuses like an economic census, and agriculture census which also needed funding.
The GSS will be using 60, 000 personnel for the census, which is a United Nation’s requirement.
It will take place within a period of three weeks and end at the end of July 2020.
There was a pilot exercise which started on May 26, 2019, where the GSS identified network challenges with some of its electronic devices as a major hurdle ahead of the census.
Selected areas such as Dormaa West District (Bono Region), Bunkpurugu District (North East Region), and Ashiedu Keteke, Ledzokuku, Osu Klottey, Ayawaso West, Okaikoi sub-metros all in the Greater Accra Region were part of the pilot exercise.
The 2020 Population and Housing Census will provide the current population of Ghana, by age, sex, educational level, marital status, literacy, educational attainment, occupation, type of economic activity, and geographic area of residence.
The count will also cover access to social amenities such as water, health care, educational infrastructure and housing conditions.
Ghana’s population is now variously estimated at 28.8 million after projections from the last census held in 2010.