Ghana News Agency (Accra) – President Akufo-Addo has announced that the next Population and Housing Census (PHC) is scheduled to take place between April and May 2021.
He says funding has been secured for the exercise, and that the government is committed to completing the census despite the challenges posed by COVID-19.
News of the dates for the census was communicated in a statement by the Ghana Statistical Service (GSS). It said the president has conveyed the government’s readiness to support the PHC.
The institution said that preparations for the census are advanced and President Akufo-Addo has assured the GSS, the organisation legally mandated to conduct the census, that financial resources have been ring-fenced so that data collection can commence on schedule in April next year.
Recruitment has begun
The GSS said it intends to recruit and train field officers in their own districts, and that it will use school premises within the ambit of the Ghana Education Service (GES) for the staff training workshops.
Space in classrooms will be available during April and May 2021, while schools are on holiday.
Recruitment has begun for national and regional trainers in addition to the field staff.
The GSS had already announced that the 2020 PHC would take place in 2021. The postponement was made necessary by the COVID-19 pandemic, coupled with the “destabilisation of the population” by the political peak season, had necessitated the of the census to next year.
The GSS had fixed 15 March 2020 for the exercise, but it was changed twice to 15 May 2020 and then 28 June 2020, with the explanation that this was to allow the GSS to conduct a mapping process and build quality data for the main exercise.
* Asaase Radio 99.5 – tune in or log on to broadcasts online.
Follow us on Twitter: @asaaseradio995
#asaaseradio #TVOL
