The Government Statistician, Dr Grace Bediako, says the period for the ongoing National Population and Housing Census will be extended to ensure that every Ghanaian is captured under the exercise. In an exclusive interview with the Daily Graphic in Accra yesterday, Dr Bediako said the principle underlying the conduct of the exercise was to ensure that "every Ghanaian is counted under the exercise". The national "census has been dogged with challenges such as shortage of materials in some remote areas but the Government Statistician-gave the assurance that census questionnaires and other materials had been despatched to parts of the country where those materials were reported to have run out. Acknowledging that there had been some challenges at the initial stages of the exercise in respect of shortage of materials; Dr Bediako explained that the shortage had been due to printing challenges, which the National Population and Housing Census Secretariat had addressed. She said it had always been the practice in the history of the census that two weeks was designated for canvassing and counting, adding that "this is ongoing". The exercise began in earnest throughout the country on September 26, 2010. About 50,000 enumerators are undertaking the two-week exercise, which has the slogan; "You count, so be counted". The GH¢70-million enumeration exercise will determine the accurate size of the country's population, which is now estimated at 25 million, and will also provide relevant demographic data that will enhance national development planning. On whether or not the budget had been over-stretched as a result of the extension of the period, the Chief Statistician said the government had an unalloyed commitment to the success of the exercise, adding that "the government is committed to getting a good count as fundamental to the census". President John Evans Atta Mills cut short his Asian tour to participate in the census by allowing himself and his household to be counted. He used the opportunity to call for the full participation of the public in the exercise, since that would aid national development. He said since the government's development agenda transcended one's religious, political and ethnic considerations, there was the need for all to embrace the exercise. Source: Daily Graphic