Dr Alhassan Iddrisu sworn in as new government statistician
President John Dramani Mahama has officially sworn in Dr. Alhassan Iddrisu as Ghana’s new Government Statistician, with a charge to place credible data and evidence at the centre of the nation’s transformation agenda.
The ceremony, held at the Jubilee House in Accra, was attended by key government officials including Finance Minister Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson, and the Ministers for the Interior, Health, Defence, Communications, and Justice, as well as other distinguished guests.
In his remarks, President Mahama underscored the critical role of data in shaping effective governance and sustainable development. He expressed confidence in Dr. Iddrisu’s ability to lead the Ghana Statistical Service (GSS) into a new era of credibility, relevance, and innovation.
Accepting the appointment, Dr. Iddrisu described his new role as a sacred national duty and a call to serve.
He pledged to lead efforts to integrate data and evidence into every facet of policy formulation and implementation.
“This is not just a role, it is a call to lead Ghana into an era where data drives governance, planning, and development,” he stated.
Dr. Iddrisu laid out an ambitious vision to modernise the GSS into a responsive, technology-driven, and trusted institution.
Among his top priorities is the rebasing of the Consumer Price Index (CPI) to improve the quality of inflation data and expand CPI reporting to district levels in support of the government’s decentralisation programme.
He also announced plans to regularly produce inflation data that reflects rural-urban disparities to better capture regional price dynamics.
In the area of economic data, Dr. Iddrisu committed to rebasing Ghana’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) every five years, rather than the current ten-year cycle, and to begin publishing regional GDP statistics to inform local policy decisions.
He also hinted at the introduction of Monthly Indicators of Economic Growth (MIEG) to complement the Bank of Ghana’s Composite Index of Economic Activity, offering a more frequent and nuanced picture of economic performance.
On employment statistics, he revealed plans to institutionalise the production of quarterly employment and unemployment data to improve tracking of labour market trends, monitor job creation under government programmes, and respond more effectively to youth unemployment.
A seasoned economist and statistician, Dr. Iddrisu brings to the role extensive experience in macroeconomic management, public finance, and data analysis, positioning him to deliver transformative leadership at the GSS.