Public access to reliable and consistent data for economic planning and academic activities continue to be a social problem facing the country despite signs of encouraging improvements, the Institute of Scientific, Social and Economic Research (ISSER) has disclosed.

The research-based think-tank in its 2014 Ghana Social Development Outlook, a new report that gives a reflection on the country’s current social development status, indicated that although some state agencies release periodic reports to the public, there are issues with the reliability and authenticity due to disparities in the data.

The report therefore called for improvement in the quality of data from some of the agencies, as well as timeliness and availability in the public domain.

“Generally, the availability of Ghanaian social developmental indicators is improving; this is an important feat in the effort to provide the necessary pointers for social policy dialogue and action.

“Some state institutions and agencies such as the Ministries of Health and Education, the National Health Insurance Authority and the Ghana Statistical Service make public their yearly reports and assessments, which is commendable.

“What remains challenging, however, is the reliability and consistency of some of the data. It is common for figures for the same indicator to change in different annual reports for the same agency,” the report said.

Public access to data is important for the country as it will aid transparency and accountability, which are critical dimensions for foreign aid and investments -- and ultimately essential for social and economic development.

Easy access to government-held data reduces risks and transaction costs in the economic sector, thus reducing barriers to growth aside from attracting groups and organisations to form communities whose activities can improve social capital and economic growth.

Vice-Chancellor of the University of Ghana, Prof. Ernest Aryeetey, launching the report, commended ISSER on its effort to bridge the gap in data supply by providing, analysing and sharing relevant data that will contribute to discussions on social development in the country.

He said, as a country, we should not bemoan the absence of data but rather work to provide relevant data that is needed for policymaking and personal research.