The Minister for Local Government, Chieftaincy and Religious Affairs, Hon. Ahmed Ibrahim (MP), has underscored the critical role of data in national and local development, as he delivered the keynote address at the official launch of eight Constituency Profile Reports under the Data for Accountability Project (DAP II). The ceremony, held at the Lancaster Hotel in Accra, brought together policymakers, statisticians, civil society actors, development partners, and Members of Parliament.
The reports were developed through a collaborative effort led by the African Centre for Parliamentary Affairs (ACEPA), the Ghana Statistical Service (GSS), and On Think Tanks (OTT), with support from the Hewlett Foundation. The profiled constituencies include Akatsi North, Odododiodio, Ablekuma South, Okaikwei South, Amansie Central, Fanteakwa North, Ketu South, Sekyere East, Talensi, and Tano South. These constituencies were strategically selected based on leadership roles within key Parliamentary Committees to align the reports with national legislative and policy priorities.
In his address, Hon. Ahmed Ibrahim commended the initiative and highlighted its alignment with the Ministry’s mandate, emphasizing that without reliable data, effective planning, budgeting, and forecasting by Ministries, Departments, Agencies, and particularly the Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs), would be impossible.
“Evidence-based decision making is the way forward. Reports like these will significantly improve the design and implementation of socio-economic interventions in our districts,” the Minister stated. He further lauded the use of administrative data at the district level to inform the profiling exercise, describing it as a practical demonstration of decentralization at work.
The Minister directed MMDAs covering the selected constituencies to reference the reports in formulating their Medium-Term Development Plans (MTDPs) for 2026–2029. He called for the allocation of adequate resources to ensure that the insights from the reports translate into tangible development outcomes, adding that “each constituency’s development should be guided by the realities on the ground.”
Hon. Ahmed Ibrahim also urged Members of Parliament to utilize the reports as tools for advocacy, community engagement, and local development tracking. “These are not just documents to be shelved, they are blueprints for progress,” he said.