Dr Bashiru I. Saeed, a Senior Lecturer at the Kumasi Polytechnic, on Friday appealed to Ghanaians to have confidence in the Ghana Statistical Service (GSS) in data monitoring and collection.

He said data management was very essential in national planning and development but expressed worry that public mistrust in the GSS had resulted in mishandling and mismanagement of national data, affecting decision making-processes.

Dr Bashiru, a renowned statistician, was speaking at a dissemination workshop on the dissemination on the findings of the Ghana Living Standards Survey round six (GLSS-6), including the Ghana Poverty Profile at Fumesua in the Kumasi Metropolis.

The GSS, with support from the UK Department for International Development (DIFD), organised the workshop which was attended by about 100 participants from the Trade Union Congress, National Commission for Civic Education, Community Development, Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice, the media and other relevant organisations.

Dr Bashiru called for an effective collaboration between the GSS and the academia in data collection and underscored the importance for the general public to develop interest in data gathering which served as a guide to proper planning.

Dr Kwame Ofori Boadu, Acting Medical Director, Ashanti Regional Hospital, entreated the GSS to continue to strive hard to produce varied and reliable data for national planning and development.

He expressed the optimism that reports on the GLSS-6 would be taken seriously to guide planning and decision making processes, especially at the local level.

Dr Sylvester Gyamfi, Director of Co-ordination and Programme Management at the GSS, said the GLSS-6 was conducted in 18,000 households in 1,200 enumeration areas between 2012/2013.