The Upper East Regional Statistician, Bawa Abdul-Kadir, has appealed to all business operators in the region to cooperate fully and provide accurate information to field officers during the second phase of the Integrated Business Establishment Survey (IBES) 2025.
He made the call at the closing ceremony of a 21-day intensive training program for field officers held at the Bolgatanga Nursing Training College Auditorium.
Organized by the Ghana Statistical Service (GSS), the training aimed to equip 120 newly recruited field officers with the necessary skills and digital tools to gather reliable and comprehensive data from both formal and informal business establishments in the Upper East Region.
Addressing trainees, stakeholders, and the media, Mr. Abdul-Kadir emphasized the importance of credible business data for economic planning, GDP rebasing, and effective policymaking.
“This is the fifth round of the industrial census we have conducted, the first being in 1962. We’ve gathered over 150 trainees for this training. At the end, about 105 will be deployed to the field, with the rest on standby.
This exercise, IBES 2025, is crucial. It helps measure the contribution of each sector and region to Ghana’s national economy. It also provides data to rebase the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), expand the Producer Price Index (PPI), assess industrial productivity, and evaluate environmental degradation linked to industrial operations.”
He reassured business owners that all field officers have taken an oath of secrecy and that any information collected will remain strictly confidential.
“When trainees knock on your doors, do not entertain fear. They are bound by an oath to keep your information confidential. They will be easily identifiable with GSS-branded ID cards, caps, apparel, and official letters of introduction. We are counting on the full cooperation of all businesses.”
In the Upper East Region alone, the survey will cover 2,511 businesses, selected from the database created during the first phase of the IBES. Nationally, over 4,000 establishments will be surveyed.
“We initially collected addresses of all businesses. In this second phase, we are revisiting selected establishments to gather in-depth data. We urge all businesses to provide accurate and timely information and reach out if they have concerns.”
The newly trained officers—mostly university graduates from across the region—received training on data collection ethics, digital tools, and survey protocols to ensure efficiency and accuracy in the field.
Mr. Abdul-Kadir praised the trainees for their dedication throughout the 3-week program, highlighting that the success of the national business census now depends on their professionalism.
The second phase of IBES 2025 will last for six weeks, targeting both registered and informal businesses across Ghana. The data collected is expected to influence economic policy, job creation strategies, investment planning, and private sector development.
Source: A1Radioonline.com|101.1Mhz|Samuel Adagom| Bolgatanga
