Policy think-tank IMANI Ghana is blaming the lack of data on unemployment on the Ghana Statistical Service. It says the Employment Minister’s confession to Parliament on Thursday 23rd June, 2010 that there is no reliable statistics on the unemployed raises suspicions about figures churned out by official sources. Youth and Employment Minister ET Mensah also told Parliament his ministry does not have a full-time labour economist. His comment draws allusion to an assertion by Deputy Minister of Information, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa that the Mills administration has created about 1.6million. Vice President of IMANI Ghana, Kofi Bentil describes the development as very disappointing. “Many users of statistics in Ghana do not trust the statistics that come from our Census. What the minister was saying is that the statistics on unemployment do not exist. So it’s not about whether we have the right ones or the wrong ones so I don’t know how Mr Ablakwa got his figures,” Mr Bentil said. “Clearly, the minister is saying those statistics do not exist.” Mr Bentil said government requires reliable statistical data to be able to draw up effective policies for the country. He also questioned the reliability of data churned out by the Ghana Statistical Service (GSS). “As for surprise, trust me, not many people are surprised by this,” he said. He said the GSS should be more effective at collecting data to enable government design policies for the betterment of the country. Source: Joy News