Need for reliable statistical data

Accra, Nov 21, GNA - Togbe Afede XIV, the Agbogbomefia of Asogli, on Monday underscored the need for good and reliable statistical data, saying wrong measurement was not healthy for the country's development. Addressing the 9th Banking Conference in Accra, Togbe Afede deplored the situation where growth rate is only measured at the end of the year while the country was still struggling to invent a measurement of unemployment rate.

"Depending on who is speaking, our per capita income appears to lie somewhere between 380 dollars and 600 dollars," he said. Togbe Afede said the resolution of the measurement problem would facilitate the performance of proper cost-benefit analysis to support decision-making, implementation and evaluation and ensure results-orientation.

Speaking on the topic: "Achieving the Millennium Development Goals Corporate Governance and Private Sector Development," he said the mediocre growth targets which had been set over the years would not get the country close to the attainment of the 2015 Millennium Development Goals.

He called for greater ambition and the courage to take bold decisions, which would not be at variance with country's objective of attaining a middle-income status.

Togbe Afede said the country would be able to attain the MDGs only if there was detailed and scientific approach to macro-economic management, saying that setting of targets alone was not enough.

He said details of how the relevant variables would contribute to the attainment of the targets must be worked out and planned and stressed the need to improve governance and check corruption.

"We need to uphold the ideals of good governance to ensure that corruption is minimized, development is depoliticised and detribalised and the views of the minority and the most vulnerable are heard and taken into account."

Togbe Afede said corruption was a leakage that made economic management difficult because it created distortions and a disincentive to performance.

He also called for local involvement in the planning and execution of projects at the local level to ensure that priorities were right and also to help check corruption.