The Ghana Statistical Service (GSS) is urging Ghanaians to allow enumerators to do their job as the service laments some households have blatantly refused to be counted.

The Service has, for the second time, extended the deadline for the 2021 Population and Housing Census to Saturday, July 30, to allow enumerators to complete work in outstanding areas.

Chief statistician Prof. Samuel Kobina Annim says so far, 95 per cent of expected households have been enumerated.

He, however, notes the Greater Accra Region is still lagging as about 15 per cent of earmarked households are yet to be counted.

"Per the data that we got coming through yesterday, 95 per cent of the expected household have all been counted, and we have seen 15 out of the 16 regions crossing the 91percent threshold; it is only Greater Accra Region that is below 90 per cent. So currently, 85 per cent of the expected work has been completed in the Greater Accra Region, so we are targeting the 15 per cent outstanding for the rest of the month.

"Diverse reasons have led to the extension of the exercise particularly in areas like Ayawaso West and Ledzokuku-Krowor municipal we have had people come in openly to say that they don’t want to participate in the exercise, but again this is where we need to do a lot more education because people don’t see the resourcefulness of the census data," he said.

The country braces itself for what experts describe as a possible third wave of the coronavirus pandemic; there have been concerns about the safety of enumerators who happen to be in direct contact with different sections of the population.

Chief statistician Prof. Samuel Kobina Annim speaking on Joy News' AM Show, assured quite a number of them have been vaccinated.

"Through the Ghana health service, an arrangement was done for all our enumerators to be vaccinated; before that, we were hard up with time, but indeed they had that offer at their disposal so those of them who really wanted to go in for it, did go in for that.

"We had some of them saying that they were not too sure if they wanted to take it and where we were with the census we didn’t want to disrupt the process by compelling people to say that if you don’t take it, you wouldn’t be part.

"In addition, we provided the needed PPE’s to that extent we were sure that our enumerators were safe and for that matter respondents as well.’

Emphasising their goal is to ensure everyone is counted. Prof Samuel Kobina Annim says they have earmarked certain areas within the capital where they may have to extend enumeration beyond July 31.

"There are some areas, particularly in Ga West and Ga North, that we may have to give it a couple of weeks beyond July 30, to ensure everyone is counted," he said.