By Edzorna Francis Mensah
The Seven-Member Ghana Statistical Service Board has been inaugurated on 5th May 2022 with responsibility, but not limited to working towards expanding the Establishment Post of the Service by ensuring experienced Senior Officers lead the production of statistics in Ghana.
The Board was also charged to facilitate work within the National Statistical System and initiate the process for the drafting of the Legislative Instrument for the Statistical Service Act, 2019: Act 1003.
The Deputy Minister of Finance and Member of Parliament for Ejisu, Lawyer Dr. John Ampontuah Kumah at the inaugurated ceremony again charged the governing Board to supervise the preparation of a suited Scheme of Service and to also guide the conduct of all the censuses and surveys outlined in the Harmonizing and Improving Statistics in West Africa Project for the next three years.
He assured the Board of Government’s support and preparedness to provide the requisite resources, both human and financial, to enable it to succeed.
The newly formed Board is chaired by Dr. Grace Bediako, Commissioner General of the National Development Planning Commission (NDPC). Other members are the current Government Statistician of the Ghana Statistical Service, Professor Samuel Kobinah Annim, Ms. Ashiokai Akrong-the Human Resource Director for Vodafone Ghana, Dr. Evans Aggrey-Darko-the Chief Director of the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs, Dr. Dzahene-Quarshie-a Professor of Modern Languages with specialization in Swahili from the University of London, Mr. Abradu-Otoo-the Director of Research at the Bank of Ghana and Professor Osei-an Associate Professor at the Institute of Statistical and Social and Economics Research and also serves as the Dean of Graduate Studies at the University of Ghana.
The Deputy Minister who could not hide his joy said, The Government was impressed with the release of the Provisional Results within 44 days of completing field data collection, “wow we are guided by the most current data in doing analysis in the Ministry’ as he recognized the fact that, the Service has been for working without a governing Board for the past five months.
The inauguration of the Board would quicken the pace of growth and development, and the industry harmony in the Service”.
The reconstitution of the Board is in accordance with Section 5 (2) of the Statistical Service Act, 2019: Act 1003 which mandates the President of the Republic, in consultation with the Council of State to appoint qualified persons to serve as a member of the governing board of GSS.
And according to John Kumah the Board though relatively small is made up of persons with expert and diverse knowledge in statistical production and the management of human resources. “These two key skills are needed in the transformation agenda embarked upon by the immediate past Board, which we believe would enhance the status of GSS in the international statistical eco-system. We further believe that your tenure of office would bring significant improvement to the field of data production for National Development”.
Profile of Nominees
1. Dr. Grace Bediako
Dr. Bediako holds a Ph.D. in Demography from Philadelphia University. She has had working relationships with the UN Statistics Commission in various capacities until she joined Statistical Service in 2014 as the Government Statistician. She GSS for a period of eight years before joining NDPC as an Advisor and ended her period as the Ag. Commissioner-General of NDPC. In 2017, she was appointed the Board Chair of GSS and has retained the same position to ensure continuity of Service. Dr. Bediako is an alumna of the University of Ghana.
2. Prof Samuel Kobinah Annim
Prof Annim has been the Government Statistician since March 2019 and he has distinguished himself since then. He joined the Service at a time that the heat was on in finalizing the Census processes. He holds a Ph.D. in Economics from Manchester University and he spent his working life teaching Economics at the University of Cape Coast and other tertiary institutions. In Cape Coast, he worked in various capacities ending his engagement as the Director of Research, Innovation, and Consultancy. He is an alumna of the University of Cape Coast.
3. Ms. Ashiokai Akrong
Ms. Akrong is an Award-Winning HR Practitioner who had worked in various Fortune 500 Companies in the United States, United Kingdom and Africa. She is currently the HR Director for Vodafone Ghana. She holds an MA in Human Resources and Industrial Relations from the University of Minnesota. She is also an alumna of the University of Ghana
4. Dr. Evans Aggrey-Darko
Dr. Aggrey-Darko is currently the Chief Director of the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs. He holds a Ph.D. in Political Science from the University of Ghana where he taught Political Science till his appointment as Chief Director in 2017. His research interests are in Public Policy, Parliamentary Affairs, and Political Theory.
5. Dr. Josephine Dzahene-Quarshie
Dr. Dzahene-Quarshie is a Professor of Modern Languages with a specialization in Swahili from the University of London and has been working with the University of Ghana since 1991. She holds a Ph.D. in African Studies and is currently the Director of the Confucius Institute at Legon. She has over 24 research publications to her credit.
6. Mr. Philip Abradu-Otoo
Mr. Abradu-Otoo is currently the Director of Research at the Bank of Ghana. He has over 30 years of experience working as an Economist in the Bank of Ghana and the IMF. He holds an MSc in Economics from the University of Warwick and is an alumna of the University of Ghana.
7. Prof Robert Darko Osei
Prof Osei is an Associate Professor at the Institute of Statistical and Social and Economics Research and also serves as the Dean of Graduate Studies at the University of Ghana. He holds a Ph.D. in Economics from the University of Nottingham and an MSc in Quantitative Development Economics from the University of Warwick. Robert Is currently a Board Member of Stanbic Bank Ghana Limited and a co-chair of a new initiative known as the Digital Agricultural Innovations and Services Initiative which is being jointly managed by J-PAL ( Based in MIT, USA) and the Center for Effective Global Action (based in UC Berkeley, USA).