By Albert Futukpor
Tamale, Aug. 29, GNA – The Ghana Statistical Service (GSS) has prioritised staff capacity development, welfare and people management to strengthen the production of credible and trustworthy data for national development, Dr Alhassan Iddrisu, Government Statistician, has said.
Dr Iddrisu said the GSS had also secured financial clearance to recruit additional staff to strengthen its operations, while efforts were being made to address staff migration issues and improve working conditions.
He said this when he engaged journalists in Tamale as part of his tour of GSS offices in the northern part of the country to familiarise himself with their operations, challenges and opportunities.
He visited GSS offices in the Northern, Savannah and Upper East Regions.
Dr Iddrisu said producing credible data remained a major priority of the GSS, noting that research conducted by the Service showed that stakeholders were satisfied with the quality and reliability of its data.
He said the GSS was, therefore, investing in staff development to ensure that personnel possessed the requisite skills and knowledge to perform their responsibilities effectively.
He said a code of conduct had also been instituted to guide staff in the performance of their duties and ensure that the highest professional standards were upheld in the production and analysis of statistics.
Dr Iddrisu said the GSS was also making deliberate efforts to simplify statistical data to make it understandable and accessible to the public.
He said the Service had started accompanying data releases with short explanatory videos to help the public understand the information and use it appropriately.
“Every data we produce, we add a short video to explain it to the public to know how to use it,” he said.
On the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in data analysis, Dr Iddrisu cautioned statisticians and other data users against excessive reliance on the technology, emphasising the importance of professional judgement and established statistical standards.
He said although AI could support statistical work, it should not replace the professional standards and judgement required in analysing and interpreting data.
Touching on his regional tour, he said it had been successful, providing management with firsthand information about challenges confronting the offices and opportunities to improve their operations.
“We shared with them our efforts to prioritise them, and for them to do more to help the country,” he said.
GNA
Edited by Eric K Amoh /Audrey Dekalu
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