New Juaben residents complain about slow pace of census

Koforidua, Oct 8, GNA - Residents in the New Juaben Municipality are complaining about the slow pace of the National Population and Housing Census as most of them claim that they are yet to be enumerated. While some are calling for the extension of the exercise, others are saying that it is impossible to have everybody counted irrespective the length of additional days in an extension. These views were expressed in a survey of some residents in the Municipality, on Thursday. The Ghana News Agency conducted the survey. Most of the residents noted that with only a few days to the end of the exercise, their structures were now being listed whiles enumerators were loitering because there were no materials to work with. The Municipal Census Officer, Mr Abaka Ansah, however, told the GNA that the exercise was on course. He explained that shortage of materials was a nationwide problem, which hit the exercise but had been resolved, adding that, the municipality had received over 100,000 materials since last Monday to work with.

Mr Ansah indicated that the public's observation of the exercise, 'as slow' was due to the nature of the enumeration where a field officer required ample time to ensure that respondents answered all questions. He cited, for instance, that due to the household concept which was being used in the exercise, in one house an enumerator had to count about 50 persons which all entail time and patience because some answers were not readily known by the respondents. On the issue of extension of the exercise, he said the National Census Secretariat would meet with all the stakeholders, in Kumasi, on Friday to decide the success of the exercise. Mr Ansah, therefore, appealed to the public and the enumerators to sustain their interest in the exercise and assured that once they had started it would be definitely completed with every person who was in Ghana on September 26 be enumerated successfully.