PHC 2021: Cooperate with GSS officials – Mahama

Former President John Mahama has urged Ghanaians to cooperate with officials of the Ghana Statistical Service in their quest to seek information and secure data as part of the ongoing population and housing census.

The former President said it is the civic responsibility of every Ghanaian to ensure they are enumerated.

Mr. Mahama made this known when he availed himself to be counted at his residence in Accra on Monday, 28 June 2021.

In a related development, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo was enumerated in the early hours of 28th June 2021 by the Government Statistician.

Following the enumeration, the President urged all persons in Ghana to cooperate with enumerators and endeavor to be counted.

He stressed that the census was an inclusive national exercise that would generate data for planning. For that reason, all persons regardless of ethnicity, religion or political affiliation will be counted.

All responses provided to enumerators during the census according to the Ghana Statistical Service are strictly confidential.

Disclosure of any information obtained in the Census without lawful authority is an offence liable to a fine, a term of imprisonment, or both per the Statistical Service Act, 2019 (Act 1003).

To enforce this confidentiality, all Census officials including Enumerators are required to take an oath of secrecy. For that reason, the media present during the enumeration of President Akufo-Addo were not permitted to record the interview on camera.

Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia was also enumerated in the early hours of Monday.

He thanked the public for their support during the listing phase of the census data collection and requested the continued support of the public for the enumeration.

Dr. Bawumia launched the 100 Days to Census Night publicity, education and campaign in March which facilitated the resource mobilization and development of strategic partnerships for census implementation over the past few months.

The enumeration of the Speaker of Parliament Alban S.K. Bagbin also took place on Monday morning.

The Speaker following his enumeration also reiterated the importance of the census.

The enumeration (counting and collection of detailed information) of all persons for the 2021 Population and Housing Census commenced on Census Night, Sunday 27th June.

The homeless, and persons who spent Census Night in transit, short-stay institutions (e.g. hospitals), hotels/guesthouses were enumerated on the Census Night.

The enumeration of persons who spent Census Night in households and long-stay institutions (e.g. university residence halls, boarding houses, training academies) will be enumerated from today 28th June to 11th July.