Accra, Jan. 31, GNA - The Board of the Ghana Statistical Service on Monday said its decision asking the Government Statistician, Dr Grace Bediako, to proceed on leave, was due to her poor management of some projects run by the Service. The Board said a group of international partners comprising the World Bank, European Union, and the Department for International Development who assessed the performance of the Service threatened to withhold funding to it.

A statement signed by the Board Chairman, Professor Francis Duodoo, said the observations of the partners chimed perfectly with the Board's own previous concerns.

The statement said in line with the Board's efforts at restructuring the Service, Dr Bediako had to be asked to proceed on leave.

It added that whilst the Service was performing poorly, "Conversely, the international partners praised the delivery of the Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey, which had the Deputy Government Statistician, Dr Nyarko, at its helm". This explained the Board's decision to ask Dr Philomena Nyarko to act as Government Statistician.

The statement denied claims that Dr Bediako had been forced out to allow for a manipulation of the census results for political purposes.