ADDRESS BY THE HONOURABLE MINISTER OF FINANCE AND ECONOMIC PLANNING, HON. KWADWO BAAH-WIREDU AT THE INAUGURAL CEREMONY OF THE 2010 POPULATION AND HOUSING CENSUS, NATIONAL CENSUS PLANNING COMMITTEE AND NATIONAL CENSUS TECHNICAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE AT MOFEP CONFERENCE ROOM ON WED. 6TH AUGUST 2008

Honorable fellow Ministers and Members of Parliament,
Distinguished representatives of institutions,
Chairman of the Statistical Service Board,
Distinguished experts in population and statistics, Government Statistician,
Ladies and Gentlemen.

It is a great honour to address this inaugural meeting of the 2010 Population and Housing Census.

2. Since the last census in 2000, the country has undergone changes in the population distribution and settlement pattern in many areas due to the creation of additional districts, from 110 to 170 and migration induced by uneven economic development in the districts and regions.

3. To avoid the creation of data gaps, there is the need for Ghana to organize the 2010 census in a bid to restore the 10-year periodicity for conducting censuses and provide current, reliable information on the population and housing conditions. The 2010 Population and Housing census will be the fifth post-independence population census in Ghana and the second to combine the enumeration of both population and housing conditions in a single operation.

4. The population and housing census is probably the single most expensive, complicated and extensive statistical operation that a country undertakes. It is the duty of our government to ensure the provision of reliable statistics to facilitate informed decision making.

5. As a country, we should commit ourselves to reverse the past trend of irregularity in census taking and under-utilization of census data so that census results become a basis for informed policy formulation, programme implementation and socio¬economic development.

6. The Government of Ghana is committed to mobilizing the needed resources to ensure the smooth implementation of the 2010 Population and Housing Census. It is necessary therefore that appropriate arrangements and procedures are established to ensure that the massive resources that will be mobilized for the 2010 Census are efficiently and effectively utilized.

7. Again, in order to ensure that the diverse operations are carried out in the right sequence and in timely manner, the entire process needs to be carefully planned, using appropriate organizational and administrative procedures that are guided by sound technical considerations.

8. It is in this light that the setting up of the census structure which entails the National Censes Planning Committee, National Census Technical Advisory Committee, the National Census Publicity and Education Committee and the National Census Secretariat is seen as a major preparatory activity in the implementation of the 2010 Population and Housing Census.

9. Today's ceremony is to formally establish two committees of the 2010 Census, namely, the National Census Planning Committee and the National Census Technical Advisory Committee.

The functions of these committees are as follows:

• The National Census Planning Committee (NCPC) is the main policy making body and the apex of the 2010 Population and Housing Census institutional arrangement. The Committee has the overall responsibility for policy issues relating to the conduct of the census.

The Committee's specific functions are:
i. To ensure that the aims and objectives of the census programme are in line with the broad national development policy;
ii. To provide policy guidance and direction for the conduct of the overall census programme;
iii. To ensure adequate mobilization of census resources;
IV. To monitor and ensure that the census programme is implemented according to schedule; and
v. To assist in census advocacy and promote inter-sectoral and institutional support.

10. The Committee is inter-sectoral in its composition and has representation at the highest level, from both public and private institutions, with the Minister for Finance and Economic Planning as the Chairman. The Committee could co-opt appropriate individuals and institutions in the performance of its duties.
• The National Census Technical Advisory Committee serves as a think-tank and advises the Government Statistician/Census Coordinator and National Census Planning Committee on the conduct of the 2010 Population and Housing Census. The Committee is responsible for ensuring that all the technical aspects of the census are effectively implemented. These include the design and production of questionnaires for trial census, main census and post-enumeration survey, the preparation of publicity materials and documents, as well as instruction manuals for the training of census personnel.

Specifically, the Committee is to carry out the following duties and responsibilities:
i. Review, appraise and monitor various census plans and activities prior to and during their implementation;
ii. Assist in identifying and assessing the capability of various subject-matter consultants and make appropriate recommendations to the Government Statistician/Census Coordinator;
iii. Ensure the timely implementation of the census work plan;
iv. Monitor implementation of activities at national, regional and district level and
v. Advise the National Census Planning Committee on all other technical matters relating to the census programme.

11. To reflect its special functions, the Committee's membership comprises subject¬matter specialists from Government MDAs, Universities, Researchers and Consultants.

12. It is my expectation that members of these census committees would adopt innovative approaches for implementing the 2010 population and housing census and that this census would provide the needed quality data for monitoring the MDGs, GPRS II and improvements in other development programmes. Further, these committees should focus on providing policy and technical direction for the effective implementation of the 2010 census.

13. I wish to declare the National Census Planning Committee and the National Census Technical Advisory Committee of the 2010 Population and Housing Census duly inaugurated.

Thank you