Parliament has approved an agreement for the start of the Ghana Statistics Development Project aimed at improving data collection and presentation for key sectors of the economy.

The project will be financed by a $30 million loan and a $10 million grant from the International Development Association (IDA).

The Ghana Statistics Development Project (GSDP) is expected to strengthen the national statistical system by enhancing the capacity of the Ghana Statistical Service (GSS) at national and regional levels.

Data collection techniques will be modernised through the application of new technologies and a new data centre for official statistics and improve the collection, compilation, analysis and dissemination of economic and socio-demographic statistics.

Presenting the report of the Finance Committee on the loan agreement, the Chairman of the committee, Mr James Klutse Avedzi, said in recent years, there had been some notable statistical achievements, including the implementation of the 2010 Population and Housing Census and several key household-based surveys, the rebasing of the national accounts and the development of the first set of quarterly national accounts.

“However, due to poor statistical and institutional frameworks, the GSS is constrained in the production, management and dissemination of quality statistics for planning, informed decision-making and monitoring and evaluation of national and international frameworks such as the Ghana Shared Growth and Development Agenda (GRADATE) and the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs)”, he added.