Prof. Samuel K. Anim
The Ghana Statistical Service (GSS) has foreseen the challenge of duplicate counting in the upcoming 2021 Population and Housing Census, especially in demarcated areas that may have more than one enumerator.
In mitigating the challenge towards improving the quality of data, the Government Statistician, Professor Samuel K. Anim, has disclosed that the service will rely on what he called ‘installed interactive maps’ on devices used for data collection to help enumerators to work in confined enumeration areas.
“Don’t forget we started this census exercise by demarcating the country into smaller geographical area and as we speak, we have demarcated the country into 51,916 enumeration areas with at least an enumerator in an area,” he said during a media engagement on Wednesday.
He said for the first time, data analysis would take place at the same time that data was being collected from the field.
“In all the 272 statistical districts, we have data quality monitor there and so immediately data collection starts on the first day, each enumerator should at least at the end of the third day send his data to the server for the data to be reviewed.
“Once there are duplicates within the enumeration area, it is going to come up. Because the serial numbers will show up, names and characteristics of members will show up. And once that is observed, we quickly correct any duplication,” he said.
He also outlined the roadmap for the population and housing census where activities have been earmarked to mainly prepare enumerator and educate the public on the upcoming exercise.
The activities included the launch of the 30-Day Countdown to the Census Night on May 28, 2021, followed by training of enumerators which starts from May 31 and ends on June 9, 2021.
Prof. Anim also mentioned the listing of structures which begins on June 13, 2021 which would then be followed by the marking of the Census night on June 27 2021.
The enumeration exercise will then start on June 28, 2021 and end on July 11, 2021.
Prof. Anim indicated that listing of structures which is not the core enumeration is designed with a seven-day window for mopping up so as to ensure proper enlisting takes place for effective enumeration.
“For each structure and the households in there, they will be visited at least twice,” he said.
By Issah Mohammed