Some residents of Wa refuse to take part in census enumeration

Wa, Sept. 28, GNA - Some members of the Wala ethnic group in the Wa Municipality of the Upper West Region have refused to be enumerated for being placed alongside the Dagaaba and Lobis, as one ethnic group under the same code in the 2010 Census.

The Wala, Dagaaba and Lobi ethnic groups are being enumerated under Code 62 but the Walas are complaining that Wala and Dagaaba are completely different ethnic groups and should be enumerated under different codes.

When the Ghana News Agency (GNA) contacted the Upper West Regional Statistician, Mr. Francis Nyarko-Larbi, in Wa, on Tuesday, he said the problem had earlier been detected and rectified but the information was yet to get to the enumerators.

He explained that the Mosi ethnic group, which was not an indigenous Ghanaian tribe, and was initially to be enumerated under code 69 had been replaced with the Wala ethnic group. Mr. Nyarko-Larbi said the Mosi people would now be captured under code 92 which catered for all other non-indigenous Ghanaian tribes. He gave the assurance that the information about the new code for the Wala people would be carried across to them and urged them to make themselves available for the enumeration. Mr. Nyarko-Larbi said his enumerators were also faced with the challenge of shortage of household questionnaire but quickly added that it was a nationwide problem.

He said some of the enumerators may not be able to work because they had totally run out of household questionnaires but said he had already passed the information to the head office and expressed the hope that they would soon be delivered.

He said in all, 1,438 people had been recruited to carry out the exercise in the region out of which 22 are senior supervisors, 163 supervisors and the rest of the 1,253 being enumerators.