President John Dramani Mahama has sworn in Dr. Alhassan Iddrisu as the new Government Statistician, tasking him with the vital responsibility of ensuring that reliable data and evidence drive Ghana’s national transformation agenda.
The swearing-in ceremony, held at the Jubilee House in Accra, was a solemn but momentous occasion, attended by high-ranking officials including the Minister for Finance, Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson, as well as ministers for the Interior, Health, Defence, Communications, and Justice Ministers, among other dignitaries.
In his remarks, Dr. Iddrisu expressed deep gratitude to President Mahama for the confidence placed in him, vowing to treat the role as a sacred national responsibility.
He laid out an ambitious roadmap for the Ghana Statistical Service (GSS), focusing on building a modern, agile, and technologically advanced institution capable of delivering accurate, timely, and relevant data.
Among his top priorities is the accelerated rebasing of the Consumer Price Index (CPI) to improve the quality of inflation statistics, with plans to extend CPI coverage to the district level in support of government decentralisation efforts. He also committed to producing rural-urban disaggregated inflation data to reflect regional price differences.
Dr. Iddrisu outlined plans to rebase Ghana’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) every five years, an upgrade from the current ten-year interval and to introduce regional GDP data to guide localized policy-making.
Additionally, he announced the development of Monthly Indicators of Economic Growth (MIEG) to complement the Bank of Ghana’s Composite Index of Economic Activities (CIEA).
On employment statistics, he pledged to institutionalize quarterly labour market reports to monitor employment trends, job creation under flagship government programs, and youth unemployment levels.
With a distinguished background in macroeconomic management, public policy, and data analytics, Dr. Iddrisu’s appointment signals a transformative era for the Ghana Statistical Service as it seeks to become a cornerstone of evidence-based governance and sustainable national development.
