The Ghana Statistical Service (GSS) will conduct another major study on the integrity of public services in the country before the end of the year.
This study, which will be formalized, will aim to achieve UN Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 16, which deals with the promotion of peaceful and inclusive societies for long-term development.
Professor Samuel Kobina Annim, the Government Statistician, revealed this when he informed President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo on the results of the 2020 Population and Housing Census (PHC) at Jubilee House in Accra on Wednesday.
Goal 16
Goal 16 of the Sustainable Development Goals focuses on peace, justice, and strong institutions, with the goal of drastically reducing all kinds of violence and collaborating with governments and people to eliminate conflict and instability.
Promoting the rule of law and human rights is critical to this process because it lowers the flow of illegal armaments and increases developing nations’ involvement in global governance institutions.
Prof. Annim stated that once the GSS completed the 2020 PHC, which will serve as the foundation for inter-census surveys, it will conduct a survey on the country’s public service integrity.
He added that it would be done in partnership with the German government, and that it would be normalized over time once it was implemented.
GDP
Prof. Annim also revealed that the GSS would begin surveys over the next three years to help re-base the country’s GDP and inform economic indicators.
He stated that the service would be ready to assist relevant ministries, departments, and agencies, as well as metropolitan, municipal, and district assemblies (MMDAs), in making the most of the censuses over two million indicators.
Threat
The Government Statistician went on to say that the age and sex distributions pointed to a pyramid, indicating that the population remained youthful, but that the threat was that the share of the youth was dropping.
He emphasized the need of the country taking advantage of the demographic dividend and investing more in the youth.
He remarked that this necessitated the formation of an inter-sectoral commission to assess the country’s young quality.
“Yes, we have the numbers, but what are the characteristics of our youth in terms of education, health, and other factors, so that they may benefit from the demographic dividend?” Prof. Annim had a question.
Age dependency
He explained that because the country had a youth bulge, it needed to consider age dependency, but the danger was that the reliance ratio would rise, resulting in an increase in the elderly population.
“The danger here is that if individuals don’t save and invest around this time, the elderly will continue to rely on the youth,” he said.
He explained that it was for this reason that the GSS was advocating for some investment in young quality, both educationally and in terms of health.
Population growth
According to the GSS boss, the census found that Ghana’s population has expanded by about fivefold since independence, from roughly 6.7 million to 30.8 million today.
He stated that the country was experiencing its lowest population growth rate, which used to be 2.1 percent, peaked at 2.7 percent in the 1984 census, and is now at 2.1 percent, and that while the population was growing, it was doing so at a declining rate, and that although the population was growing, it was doing so at a declining rate.
Good work
The GSS’s efforts were lauded by President Akufo-Addo.
Ghanaians, he said, were grateful for the information gathered, which would help with public policy.
“The methodical and efficient manner in which you went about it drew the attention of the nation and deserves the nation’s praise,” he said.
He stated that the GSS’s remaining steps and recommendations, which require government action, would be taken into account.
Source: Donald Ato Dapatem, Oct – 29 – 2021,
This story has been reproduced from the media. It does not necessarily represent the position of Ghana Institute of Planners
