The Chief Census Officer, Samuel Kobina Annim, has cautioned enumerators against promising members of the general public money in exchange for providing data during the 2021 Population and Housing Census (PHC).
He explained that it is the civic obligation of every Ghanaian to voluntarily support the exercise by providing accurate data to enumerators on the census night.
Accordingly, no amount of money is apportioned to any individual who participates in the exercise.
He has since cautioned census officials to desist from making such promises when they go to the field.
Additionally, the government statistician has asked the public to report any census official who lures anyone into believing that they would be given some money after providing information to the Service.
“There is no room for a person or group of persons in Ghana to abstain from the census exercise. Indeed, clause 54 of the Statistical Service Act (2019) has the caption, Offences and Penalties, and it mandates everyone in Ghana to give us accurate data willingly once we approach the person,” the statistician explained.
“Nowhere in our engagement do we pay money for data collection, and indeed the law is very blunt on that in terms of our civic responsibility in providing the statistical service with the needed information,” he added.
He further stated that “there is no way that in our undertaking, we will give any respondent some amount of money in view of the data that we are receiving from the respondent”.
Annim also warned people against preventing enumerators from carrying out their responsibilities.
This caution comes against the backdrop of reports over the weekend that some enumerators doing chalking and numbering of structures were attacked in the process.
According to him, such a situation was a threat to the success of the ongoing exercise and indicated that the police have begun investigations into cases of assault against the enumerators in parts of the country.
“Inciting a group of people not to participate in the census has a far-reaching consequence that is [tantamount to] a 12-month imprisonment”.
The Chief Census Officer made these comments when he spoke on The Probe on Sunday on JoyNews, monitored by The Ghana Report.
On the issue of payment, he assured enumerators for the 2021 Population and Housing Census that 30% of their GH₵2,520 remuneration would be paid on Monday, June 21, 2021.
The government Statistician gave this assurance amid concern by field workers over the payment of their money.
He explained that unlike previous censuses where one enumerator was tied to an enumeration area; there were 55,632 enumerators and 11,177 supervisors on the field to ensure that all areas are well covered.
“We did indicate that, per the contract, we were going to pay them within the first seven days of their engagement. We have had a bit of challenge, which will not in any way prevent us from paying them starting this Monday,” Annim said.
