Kumasi, Aug 18, GNA - Mr. Emmanuel George Osei, Ashanti Regional Statistician, has urged the media to play the lead role in helping the public to appreciate the importance of the national Population and Housing Census scheduled for September this year.

The exercise, he said, was critical to the planning and development agenda of government and for that matter, it was necessary to whip up public enthusiasm for its success.

Ghana's population was pegged at 18.9 million, according to the last census held in year 2,000.

Mr. Osei, who was speaking at a media briefing on the Census in Kumasi organized by the Ghana Statistical Service (GSS), said for purposes of the impending exercise, the nation had been divided into 36,000 enumeration areas.

Information to be captured by the field personnel and officers would include demographic, economic, health, housing, Information Technology (IT) and socio-economic conditions of those counted.

He said in addition, the geographic and internal migration characteristics of those to be counted would also be factored.

September 26, has been designated as the 93Census Night."

Mr. Osei reminded the public that field personnel would soon start marking their houses to facilitate the exercise and appealed for public cooperation and understanding.

Mr. Sylvester Hlodzi, Chairman of the Regional Census Implementation Committee, said the service had put in place quality assurance check mechanism to monitor and track double counting.

He urged all the people to take the exercise seriously since it was essential for fair allocation of government's resources, distribution of services and representation at all levels of the nation's socio-economic and political endeavours.