Cape Coast Census Office sacks three enumerators

The Cape Coast Municipal Census Office has said it had sacked three enumerators who tried to incite their colleagues to strike over what they termed "the low amount of money being paid to them as transport allowance".

Mr. Kwaku Apatsu, Municipal Census Officer, stated that the dismissed enumerators - Mr. Mark Larbi, Mr. James Buckman, and Mr. Adolphus Ackon - had been made to hand over all census materials and logistics in their possession. He said Mr. Larbi and Mr. Buckman, who had completed counting in their enumeration areas, were to have been reassigned to other areas, while Mr. Ackon was yet to complete his assignment.

Mr. Apatsu said the transport allowance of 15,000 cedis, which the three enumerators said was too small, was meant to supplement the actual allowance of 85,000 cedis to be paid to enumerators after the exercise. His office, however, decided to pay the 15,000 cedis to them on humanitarian grounds, and described the attitude of the three dismissed officials as "very disturbing". Mr. Apatsu said in addition to having their services dispensed with, the three would be paid only part of the 85,000 cedis they were to have received after the exercise.

On problems encountered, Mr. Apatsu said when the exercise first began, enumerators assigned to Ebubonko, a village near Cape Coast, had a hectic convincing the people participate in National Population and Housing Census. The people initially refused to co-operate because they alleged that their village was yet to be connected to the national grid.