The Northern Regional Minister, Hon. Ali Adolf John, has assured the Ghana Statistical Service (GSS) of the Northern Regional Coordinating Councilβs (NRCC) continued support and collaboration to address challenges confronting the Service and strengthen the production and use of reliable statistical data for development in the region.
The Minister gave the assurance when he received the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Ghana Statistical Service, Dr. Alhassan Iddrisu, and his team on a courtesy call at the Northern Regional Coordinating Council on Monday, 24 August 2026.
The courtesy call formed part of the CEOβs visit to the Northern Region to engage with staff and key stakeholders of the GSS, deepen institutional collaboration and identify practical ways of enhancing the operations and effectiveness of the Service in the region.
Welcoming Dr. Iddrisu and his delegation, Hon. Ali Adolf John expressed appreciation to the CEO for the visit and warmly welcomed him to the region. He noted that the visit was an important opportunity to strengthen the relationship between the GSS and the NRCC and to promote closer collaboration in support of the regionβs development agenda.
The Regional Minister underscored the critical role of statistics and reliable data in national and regional development planning, stressing that accurate and timely data were essential for effective policy formulation, resource allocation, monitoring and evaluation of development programmes and informed decision-making.
He commended the Ghana Statistical Service, particularly its regional office, for the work being done to provide statistical information to support development planning. He also acknowledged the Serviceβs collaboration with the NRCC and other stakeholders in advancing development initiatives in the Northern Region.
Hon. Ali Adolf John emphasised that stronger collaboration between the GSS, the Regional Coordinating Council and Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs) was necessary to ensure that development interventions were based on credible evidence and reflected the actual needs and conditions of communities.
In his remarks, the CEO of the Ghana Statistical Service, Dr. Alhassan Iddrisu, expressed appreciation to the Northern Regional Minister and the administrative officers of the NRCC for the warm reception accorded him and his delegation.
Dr. Iddrisu noted that Hon. Ali Adolf John was the first Regional Minister he had met since assuming office, describing the courtesy call as an important step towards building stronger institutional relationships and enhancing collaboration with regional and local authorities.
He acknowledged the support and cooperation the Ghana Statistical Service had received from the Northern Regional Coordinating Council and expressed his appreciation to the Minister and the Council for their continued assistance to the Service in the region.
The GSS CEO further briefed the Regional Minister on the mandate and functions of the Ghana Statistical Service, highlighting the importance of the Service in producing, coordinating and disseminating official statistics to support development planning and decision-making across the country.
According to him, reliable statistics were indispensable to the development process because they enabled government, development partners, researchers, businesses and other stakeholders to understand prevailing socio-economic conditions, identify development gaps and design appropriate interventions.
Dr. Iddrisu, however, identified resource constraints as one of the major challenges affecting the effective operations of the GSS, particularly at the regional and district levels. He therefore called for increased support and collaboration from the NRCC and the various Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies to enable the Service to effectively discharge its mandate.
He also raised concerns about challenges associated with accessing and obtaining data from some decentralised departments and institutions at the district level. He explained that delays or difficulties in the provision of administrative data could affect the timely compilation and dissemination of statistics required for development planning.
The CEO therefore appealed to the Regional Minister to use his office to facilitate stronger cooperation between the GSS and decentralised departments and agencies, particularly at the district level, to ensure that relevant data were made available in a timely and coordinated manner.
Responding to the concerns, Hon. Ali Adolf John assured the CEO of the NRCCβs full commitment to supporting the Ghana Statistical Service in addressing the challenges identified.
He pledged to work with the GSS and the MMDAs to strengthen institutional collaboration, facilitate access to relevant administrative data and explore ways of providing the necessary support to improve the Serviceβs operations in the Northern Region.
The Minister stressed that the availability of credible and timely statistics remained crucial to the governmentβs efforts to accelerate development, improve public service delivery and ensure that scarce public resources were directed towards areas of greatest need.
The meeting ended with a renewed commitment by both institutions to deepen collaboration, strengthen data-sharing mechanisms and work together with other stakeholders to promote evidence-based development planning and decision-making in the Northern Region and the country at large.