Winneba (C/R), Dec. 25, GNA— The Ghana Statistical Service (GSS) has assured of its readiness to successfully conduct the 2022 Annual Household Income and Expenditure Survey (AHIES).
The survey will enable the GSS to provide quarterly accurate information on Gross Domestic Product (GDP), from both the productive and expenditure points of view and unemployment figures, among others.
The maiden survey would be carried out within 12-months across the country and will involve 200 interviewers in 40 teams, with each team consisting of five interviewers and one supervisor.
Enumerators were taken through 15-days of rigorous quizzes and field practises to effectively build their capacities on the modalities for collection and entry of household, as well as, a community registry.
Launching the survey at a ceremony, after the training at Winneba on Wednesday, Professor Samuel Annim, the Government Statistician said the AHIES approach will help address the challenges with income, product and expenditure perspective with GDP.
“Until we are able to do that as a country, from an identity point of view, there would be leakages because you are unable to equate income, product and expenditure,” he said.
“So if you don’t equate these things and leakages set in, especially from corruption point of view, you may not be too sure of the accuracy of the GDP figures,” he noted.
Prof Annim said the National Population and Housing Census had given out some fields of indicators but was unable to give figures related to GDP, making AHIES a special programme to delve into other macroeconomics indicators.
Key amongst them was unemployment and poverty indicators, with the Census bringing to the fore, unemployment figures.
He advised enumerators to exhibit a high level of discipline and professionalism in the discharge of their duties and adhere to the COVID-19 safety protocols.