Unreliable Data: A Source of worry in Ghana

Who is in charge, politicians or the experts?

It is becoming increasingly worrying how politicians are beginning to parade national statistics with utter disregard for legitimacy, making it very difficult for planners, social scientists, statisticians, and the general public to have confidence in what is churned out from certain circles as propagandist, misleading and very disinforming. Not too long ago, it was the accuracy of Ghana’s GDP that engendered a protracted debate in public circles with some interesting twists to it.

In a public pronouncement, the President of the Republic asserted that Ghana’s GDP had inched upwards from US$400 to US$600. Whether this was by design to throw dust into the eyes of the good people of Ghana to score a political goal, cheap or otherwise, it is difficult to decipher.

Interestingly, whilst the public, as usual, was debating this issue with all the energies they could garner especially on party lines, the Institute of Economic Affairs came out clearly to discredit the figures and put the issue to rest. As though the right lessons were not learnt, the President again, in his flurry of joy, jumped on the rostrum again and asserted that remittance from Ghanaians living abroad had hit US$8 billion annual mark by the close of 2006. Typically, this pronouncement ignited a huge public debate which prompted notable Development Economists, migration think-tanks and some renowned international institutions to set the records straight by slighting the declaration of the President. Most of the figures churned out by individuals and these institutions pointed out that they concurred on figures around US$2 billion annually, which was still too astronomical for some people.

Interestingly, at the launch of the Ghana Opportunity Network (GoNET), at the British Council in Accra on Tuesday, Mr. Stephen Asamoah Boateng, the Minister of Tourism and Diasporan Relations, hinted that remittance from Ghanaians abroad increased from US$400 million in 2001 to US$4.3 billion in 2007. The twist here is that, whilst debunking the migratory econometrics of his boss, he attributes the increase to the good governance being witnessed under his leadership. In another development, the immediate past Director-General of the Ghana Health Service, Professor Agyeman-Badu Akorsah, in a press briefing, lamented the decreasing quality of life of the ordinary Ghanaian, and asserted that life expectancy for men in Ghana has reduced to 50 years and for women 60 years, bringing the average to 55 years. But contrary to this assertion, the President at the recent Health fair again put forward figures which contradict that of the learned professor. According to the President, life expectancy of the Ghana at birth now stands at 57 years. The President said this without giving out the breakdown for the sexes. Indeed, if data from the Ministry of Health is something to go by, it is clear that infant mortality and other chronic diseases are on the rise making it tenable to posit that life expectancy in Ghana has taken a plummeted. The effects of all this masquerading and manipulation of figures certainly erodes public confidence in data emanating from certain public figures and institutions to the extent that it leaves the public in a loop of quandary not knowing which institution to rely on with regards to data. It is not surprising that in one of its commentaries that highlight problems associated with implementing the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), the 13 July edition of the Economist lamented the lack of accuracy in figures or data emanating from Third World countries especially countries South of the Sahara for measuring achievements towards the MDGS but only fell short of fingering Ghana. It is important for all of us-politicians, think-tanks, statisticians, social scientists and the general public-to understand that the interest of corporate Ghana is bigger and more essential than any personal parochial agenda to distort the facts which have the potential to distort our history, future projections and our national development agenda. Leading from the above, it is imperative for Ghanaian research institutions, think-tanks and experts to be guided by the ethics of their professions to churn out only data that is accurate and reliable. It is only by doing that that they are able to engender and uphold public confidence in their activities. For now, I will like the President, J.A. Kufour, Professor Agyeman-Badu Akorsa, Mr. Stephen Asamoah Boateng to come again on the above figures. Ghanaians are listening with rapt attention.