The National Statistical Advisory Committee (NSAC) has been inaugurated with a call on members to work towards a systematic improvement of quality data.
The statutory committee established under the Statistical Service Act, 2019, (Act 1003), is tasked with strengthening the production of harmonised and quality statistics and facilitating the coordination of statistical activities within the National Statistical System (NSS) .
The 25-member committee, with a two-year mandate, comprises representatives from key users of statistics in public institutions.
Nana Agyekum Dwamena, the Head of Civil Service, administered the oath of office and oath of secrecy to the committee members.
He highlighted the important role that the NSAC needed to play in strengthening the national statistics, which need invigoration.
That, he stated, was based on the findings from the 2018 National Statistical Assessment and the 2022 User Satisfaction Survey.
“The assessment also found statistics production by MDAs, Regional Coordinating Councils, and Metropolitan, Municipal, and District Assemblies to be generally weak and uncoordinated, making it difficult for the national statistical system to cope with emerging internal and external demands,” he said.
“Just about one-third (34.6 per cent) of institutions are of the view that policymakers use official statistics for evidence-based decision-making.”
He urged NSAC members to bring their expertise and varied experiences to bear and help put in place the requisite systems and structures to strengthen the statistical ecosystem.
Professor Samuel Kobina Annim,
the Government Statistician, said the specific objectives for the establishment of the committee were to establish an effective national statistical system, advance the integration of both experimental and official statistics with practice, policy, and research.
He added that the committee was also tasked with pursuing the attainment of methodological rigour and integrity of data systems, analysis, and interpretation for both the private and public sectors and to harness the resourcefulness of the global data revolution agenda.
Prof Annim said among the functions of the committee were providing guidance on the harmonization, compilation, and dissemination of high quality data and supporting the attainment of data and statistical credibility.
