Accra, Nov. 26, GNA - The Ghana Statistical Service GSS) and stakeholders have put together a master plan to carry out sustainable and reliable civil registration across the country, a Deputy Minister said on Thursday.

Mr Elvis Afriyie-Ankrah, Deputy Minister of Local Government and Rural Development, noted that Africa had not done well with regard to the development of administrative data source, including civil registrations system.

"It is refreshing to know that the GSS, with its stakeholders, has put together a master plan to remedy the situation," he said. The deputy minister was opening a workshop to mark this year's Africa Statistics Day celebration organised by the GSS on the theme: "Strengthening Civil Registration and Vital Statistics System in Support of National Development and Millennium Development Goals." The issues discussed at the workshop were the status of civil registration and status of vital statistics in Ghana. Civil registration encompasses all registrations done by organisations such as the Births and Deaths Registry, Registrar-General's Department, Ghana Immigration Service, Judicial Service and the Assemblies. Mr Afriyie-Ankrah said the master plan was a medium-term plan designed to provide strategic directions and appropriate mechanism for guiding and accelerating the development of sustainable statistical capacity. This, he said, would also help to promote evidence-based policy formulation, planning and decision-making in support of national, regional and international development agenda.

He noted that civil registration was a conventional and more reliable source of vital statistics needed for national development. However, due to its absence, African states were compelled to depend on unconventional sources like surveys and census, which could not account for population dynamics.

"This has brought a negative impact on the accuracy and reliability of our data sources in the planning, monitoring and evaluation of our development policies and programmes at the macro and micro levels," he said. Mr. Afriyie-Ankrah urged African states to domesticate the recommendations and guidelines of the UN Statistical Division and make them applicable to their respective situations.

"Unlike many other development programmes, civil registration is a continuous and permanent undertaking that needs to be developed on a long-term perspective." He said the Economic Commission of Africa (ECA), would also have to lead the way to the adaptation and domestication of international best practice on the continent. 26 Nov. 09