Dr. Grace A. Bediako has been appointed Chair of the newly inaugurated seven member Board of the Ghana Statistical Service after a ceremony held at the Ministry of Finance Wednesday.

The Board also comprises the Ag. Government Statistician, Baah Wadieh; Nicholas Okoe Sai; Galina Okartei-Akko; Prof. Abena D. Oduro; Dr. Benjamin Amoah; and Dr. Robert Darko Osei.

Inaugurating the Board, the Deputy Minister for Finance, Kweku Kwarteng, on behalf of the President, congratulated them on their appointment.

He noted that with their passion and demonstrated commitment to the development and use of statistics in the country, their tenure of office will bring substantial advancement to that field.

Mr Kwarteng stated that currently, there is increasing demand for credible data for evidence-based decision making as well as measure the implementation of the President’s Coordinated Programme for Social and Economic Policies; Ghana’s next medium term development policy framework, 2018-2021; the Sustainable Development Goals; and the AU Agenda 2063.

He indicated that Ghana’s data needs to meet international quality standards and also its practices conform to the United Nations Fundamental Principles of Official Statistics. He therefore charged the Board to ensure that the Ghana Statistical Service lives up to expectation.

The Deputy Finance Minister also noted areas that required the Board’s immediate attention include the engagement of a substantive Government Statistician to spearhead upcoming major exercises, namely the conduct of the Census of Agriculture and the 2020 Population and Housing Census.

He also called on them to ensure the review of the Statistical Service Act, a draft of which is currently under consideration and assured them of Government’s continued support and readiness to provide the requisite resources to enable them succeed in their national assignment.

The Chairman of the Board, Dr. Grace A. Bediako, on behalf of the members, expressed their appreciation for the confidence reposed in them to serve the nation.

She said the Board was ever ready to provide Government with urgent needed advice on current statistical developments and what was required to meet the outstanding obligations from Ghana’s decentralized planning system and its regional and international commitments, as well as further enhance the image of the Ghana Statistical Service, both home and abroad.