The Savannah region has succesfully joined the campaign and launched of this year`s 2021 population and housing census.
The event was held at the Savannah Regional RCC conference hall on the 27th of May this year.
In attendance were members and representatives of some regional, municipal and district institutions, who serve as major stakeholders.
Ghana has been fairly consistent in conducting census every ten years since the year 1960 to count and understand its population size, structure and dynamics.
Population and census data provides data on sex, age, birth and deaths, migration, the quality of housing and access to public services, health and education.
The 2021 population and Housing census is expected to provide updated information on the population to help track progress made with regards to international, national, regional and global development goals.
Speaking at the event on the launch of the 30 days to the 2021 population and Housing census exercise, the Savannah Regional Minister, Hon. Saeed Muhazu Jibril said the 2021 population and Housing census will be the first ever fully digitized census to be conducted in Ghana.
This will guarantee the delivery of high quality and faster results to support the decision making process in the country. He said the census will cover all members of the society including the vulnerable and the disadvantaged members of the society, such as persons living with disabilities, orphans and vulnerable children, the elderly and even street families.
The regional minister admonished persons, both Ghanaians and non-Ghanaians, who may be resident or non-resident , but may be in the various MMDAs on the census night to be ready to welcome census officials into their communities and places of residence and provide the necessary information for their enumeration.
The Government he said, continues to be committed to be evidence-based decision making and planning in all facets of decision making in its development agenda, and that this year`s census is unique and different from all censuses that Ghana has ever undertaken in several aspects of the exercise and even by reports that will emanate fro this national exercise.
He further stated that the Metropolitan/ Municipal/ District Assemblies have taken all necessary steps to ensure that the census goes on smoothly in safe and secured environment with minimum or no distruptions.
Hon. Saeed Muhazu Jibril has therefore called on all MMDAs to support the census process without any reservations. The regional minister also pleaded with the political and religious leaders, the business community and the private sector as well as the civil society to use their various platforms to support the census process to enhance the country`s progress.
The Metropolitan Municipal Coordinating Director, Mr. Philemon Ankorley in his speech stated that the census data will help transform Ghana`s economy and support the economic development at the national, regional and district levels.
He said information growth dynamics is important and highly needed by the MMDAs in planning for educational needs, where to locate health facilities, how to allocate social expenditures and identify those who really need help in the society.
He said the Ministry of Local Government, Decentralisation and Rural Development through the MMDAs has supported the allocation of storage facilities in all the 272 statistical districts in the country, hence will continue to support the GSS to ensure the conduct of a successful census through the District census implementation Committee.
Kadiri Abdul Rahman, a census officer said, the census is a mandatory exercise and everyone can be counted at everywhere in the course of the census process. He further stated that the census is very important and that everyone must remember the census night because they will be counted according to where they spend the census night in Ghana.
He said one needs not to change the location or travel to the village or Town to be enumerated, since the exercise requires the census officials to visit the place of residence and all structures to count and enumerate all persons who spend the night in those structures regardless of their residential status.
The Census Night is expected to set off for the 27th of June, 2021, and persons on transit and in short stay in institutions such as hotels, guest houses and hospitals in-patients will all be counted on the census Night.
He however said, the enumeration of all persons in residential household facilities as well as institutions and all other persons, will be enumerated from 28th June to 11th July, 2021.
The slogan for this year`s census is, YOU COUNT, GET COUNTED
