Ghana Statistical Service (GSS), says the implementation of the second phase of the Integrated Business Establishment Survey (IBES II), would provide the needed benchmark data to enable the re-basing of the main economic indicator series.

Mr Baah Wadieh, Deputy Government Statistician, said the data collected from IBES II would help the service to re-base Ghana’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP), Producer Price Index (PPI), Index of Industrial Production and other economic indicators.

Speaking at a Stakeholders’ Workshop on IBES II, organised by the GSS in Accra on Tuesday, he noted that following the successful completion of the IBES Phase I, the GSS in collaboration with the Ministry of Trade and Industry began preparations for the second phase in May and worked on the development of a sample design and the selection of sample of establishment.

All the preparations have since been completed and are ready for field work to begin in November to December.

He said the successful completion of this the IBES Phase II would update the re-base indicators and also provide government and the private sector with reliable, timely and relevant information that would inform the formation of policies and strategies that would stimulate the growth of all aspects of the economy.

He noted that in light of the benefits that would accrue from the IBES II, the stakeholders’ workshop was necessary to create awareness and to solicit the input and suggestions in order to make the programme a success.

Mr Anthony Krakah, Project Coordinator for the IBES Phase II the project, said the IBES initiative was under the Ghana Statistics Development Project and was a follow-up to the IBES Phase I; an economic census which collected basic but detailed information on all establishments in the country.

According to him, the first phase covered about 638,000 establishments from all sectors of the economy and produced four reports which would soon be launched: a Summary Report, Job Creation Report, Employment Report and a Business Register.

He explained that unlike previous surveys conducted by the GSS, IBES Phase II was an integrated survey, which would focus on non-household establishments in all sectors of the economy and cover the formal and informal micro, small and medium enterprises.

The survey would cover about 31, 152 establishments out of the 638, 000 captured in the first phase.

Mr Krakah spoke about the important of the use of data collected under the project to re-base economic indicators saying, most of them were based on outdated data.

“For instance the GDP is currently based on a 2006 survey while the PPI on a 2003 survey,” he said.

The survey would cover areas such as employment, revenue, expenses and fixed capital formation and focus on data from the 2013 financial year.

Participants at the workshop included representatives of private sector business associations such as the Association of Ghana Industries, Private Enterprises Federation and the Ghana Real Estate Developers Association, Ghana Chamber of Commerce and Industry among others.

They urged the GSS to undertake intensive sensitisation to create awareness and educate businesses on the survey to avoid difficulties during the field work.