The president of the Ghana Statistical Association, Prof. Nicholas N. N. Nsowah-Nuamah says that the employment of non-statistical staffs for the position of District Statisticians is posing a threat to the development of the nation.
He added that it is important to note that statistics is not just a course but also a profession that requires an appropriate trained person to practice.
Prof. Nsowah-Nuamah said this at the association’s first International Statistics Conference in Accra on Tuesday. The theme of the conference was, “Statistics: necessary companion in achieving.”
He explained that without appropriate training, the statistician can be a dangerous person who will mislead policy makers into taking wrong decisions and waste of national resources.
The one-day conference brought together statisticians from Ghana and some parts of Africa to discourse on issues affecting the statistical society and also their role in achieving the sustainable development goals (SDGs).
Prof. Nsowah-Nuamah said the practice should not continue because there were a lot of graduates with statistical training who are looking for jobs.
He said a major challenge hindering the growth of the profession in Ghana is the lacked of regulation, which causes the association to open its doors to anyone.
He also encouraged that workers of all kinds of profession be given license before operating as done in other countries.
He disclosed that the association was considering working with Parliament to introduce a bill to sanitise the statistical profession.
He ended that in his view, the association should establish the Ghana Institute of Chartered Statisticians (GICS) or the Ghana Institute of Professional Statisticians (GIPS), which will give accreditation to individuals to practice as statisticians in order to make statistical results more reliable and dependable.
Story By: Nhyira Kwabi
