Census committee inaugurated in Hohoe

The Hohoe Municipal Assembly in the Volta region has inaugurated an eight-member Municipal Census Implementation Committee to oversee the implementation of the 2020 Population and Housing Census (PHC) in the Municipality.

The Committee will provide the complement of skills and competencies needed for the successful conduct of the census in the Municipality.

Mr. Andrews Teddy Ofori, the Hohoe Municipal Chief Executive (MCE) who inaugurated the committee said in a strategic move to improve the timeliness of census results, it was expected that the Assembly, chiefs and people would support the efforts of the Ghana Statistical Service (GSS), adding that, "we shall mobilize our people to make themselves available during the census period."

He said the success of the census in the Municipality depended on the extent to which the inaugurated committee executed its task and called on the members to be committed and attached seriousness to their duties.

The MCE said the population and housing census data was critical and an indispensable source of statistics in the implementation of decentralization programmes and development planning and implementation.

The committee has Mr. Jack Jones Faniyi, Municipal Coordinating Director as chairman with Mr. Peter Kweikuma, Municipal Census Officer, Mr. Justice Botsyoe, Municipal Information Officer and Madam Gladys Amenya, Municipal Education Director as members.

The rest are Dr. Pius Mensah, Municipal Health Director, Togbega Homatekpor V, Traditional Council Representative, Mr. Ernest Amedior, Municipal Director of National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE) and Mr. Evans Owusu, Municipal Statistical Officer.

Mr. Louis Toboh, Deputy Volta Regional Statistician said the 2020 Population and Housing Census involved the total count of all persons living within a country and housing units in the same country, within a specified time, adding that a unique thing about this year’s census was the emphasis on counting of houses and structures such as kitchens.

He said other unique features of the exercise included the use of a Computer Assisted Personal Interview (CAPI) which heavily depended on Technology, Global Positioning System (GPS) coordinates, which would be picked for all structures and communities, in-built quality control system for internal consistency validation of the data collected to enhance data quality control and digitized maps.

Mr. Toboh said the uses of census data would include ensuring that Ghana’s data systems remained current, updated and relevant to policy and decision-making, providing updates for socio-economic, demographic and housing indicators.

The Deputy Statistician said the census data would also serve as basis for review of administrative boundaries, constituencies and electoral areas, facilitates equitable allocation of national resources and help to identify disadvantaged population groups and areas.

A total of 232 field workers would be engaged for the exercise in the Municipality, which will begin on June 28, 2020, with the slogan; "2020 PHC: You Count, Get Counted."