NPP Must Thoughtfully Keep Eyes on Census Figures

By Kwame Okoampa-Ahoofe, Jr., Ph.D.

Speculations that census figures for 2010 may have been doctored in favor of the Volta Region (See “Volta Region Census Figures Massaged – NPP” AfricaNewsAnalysis.com 2/2/11) must be viewed with utmost concern. This is because the outcomes of such exercises entail both political and economic implications.

On the economic front, such figures are used to determine the creation of more administrative and electoral districts. And on both counts, the distribution of funding resources from the central government is involved. The creation of more administrative and electoral districts also implies political empowerment. Thus in cases where population count is deliberately inflated, what often results is the illegitimate concession of power to the undeserving at the expense of the deserving.

There are quite a number of scientific methods by which to fairly effectively determine if, in fact, the population count in a particular region or locality has been deliberately inflated. One such method is to study the trend of population migration. The latter is often determined by such basic socioeconomic factors as the availability of jobs, and whether the kinds of jobs available are competitive, wage-wise, to attract a critical mass of citizens.

Then also must be observed the availability of such cultural and quality-of-life facilities as schools, hospitals/health centers, transportation and housing as well as the traditionally recognized ratio of residents to housing facilities. For example, regions in Ghana with a remarkable concentration of the best schools tend to serve as magnetic centers of urban development. Thus what party stalwarts like Mr. Kwadwo Owusu-Afriyie, the General-Secretary of the New Patriotic Party, ought to be looking at, in terms of population growth in the Volta Region, is the extent to which the preceding indicators have either improved or degenerated in the subject region during the past decade. This must, of course, be compared with available data on, at least, the last two census figures for the Volta Region.

Needless to say, there is every reason to believe that if the Mills-led government of the so-called National Democratic Congress (NDC) had its way, the population of the Volta Region would be inflated several times over its current magnitude, whatever the latter may be. We confidently advance this argument because key NDC operatives routinely describe the Volta Region as the “World Bank” of their party, meaning that residents of the Volta Region are immutably committed to massively voting for the NDC, irrespective of gubernatorial performance.

It is quite understandable that Mr. Owusu-Afriyie should go public with claims largely based on unofficial sources inside the Ghana statistical Services Department. Still, the reliability of such sources cannot be aptly characterized as foolproof, since these sources are inescapably partisan. The problem here, too, is that these sources may not be highly positioned in the department well enough to be able to boldly go public with their evidence. Even so, going so prematurely public with the party’s misgivings may yet set in motion an unsavory process of institutional witch-hunting over which a party in opposition, however formidable, may not be able to really do much about. This, however, is in no way to suggest the condonation of fraud for the sake of protecting the jobs of NPP members and sympathizers who reserve the legitimate right to such jobs, regardless of ideological suasion.

The fact that the Statistical Services Department aborted a press conference at which it had intended to release preliminary results of the 2010 census, is nothing anomalous in the history of a country in which such erratic administrative practice is more the norm than the exception. By the same token, we are equally encouraged by Mr. Owusu-Afriyie’s quite sagacious decision to the effect that “even though the [NPP] trusts its source, [it prefers] to give the Statistical Services [Department] the benefit of the doubt,” by waiting for the official announcement of preliminary figures generated from the 2010 census “before deciding on the next line of action,” whatever the latter may be.

*Kwame Okoampa-Ahoofe, Jr., Ph.D., is Associate Professor of English, Journalism and Creative Writing at Nassau Community College of the State University of New York, Garden City. He is a Governing Board Member of the Accra-based Danquah Institute (DI) and author of “The Obama Serenades” (Lulu.com, 2011). E-mail: okoampaahoofe@optimum.net. ###