Despite the widespread assertion that Ghana has serious issues with the availability of economic data, IMANI Africa is disputing this claim, insisting that the country doesn’t have a data deficit but rather has practical data use challenges.
This striking insight from IMANI is in response to the launch of Phase II of the Ghana Statistical Service’s 2024 Integrated Business Establishment Survey (IBES II).
A policy brief by IMANI on the IBES II makes a simple but strong case that Ghana is not starved of economic data; it’s rather starved of action based on that data.
For years, millions of cedis have been poured into high-quality national surveys; however, many of them end up shelved, unutilized, and eventually forgotten.
The missing link, according to the public policy think tank, is not the data, but rather the feedback loop that turns findings into real-time, targeted, and adaptive policy decisions.
“It is not just about data collection but how it’s used. Ghana does not suffer from a complete absence of economic data. The real challenge is the policy system’s ability to absorb, interpret, and act on this data in a timely and structured way, a feedback system where the government uses real-time data to adapt interventions, target support, and discard what’s not working,” portions of the policy brief cited by The High Street Journal read.
Ghana is grappling with record youth unemployment, struggling MSMEs, and widening inequality between regions. But IMANI argues that timely data from IBES II could help policymakers pinpoint which sectors are driving job creation, which firms are falling behind, and where infrastructure investments can unlock real productivity.
The IBES II, the Ghana Statistical Service says, will enable the authorities to identify nuances such as regions where businesses are booming but credit access is choking growth, or where informal trade dominates because formal registration is too costly.
IMANI says, if the government is able to plug IBES II insights into its budgeting, procurement, and investment decisions, it could redirect resources to where they’ll do the most good, and cut waste where interventions aren’t working.
Already, Government Statistician, Dr. Alhassan Iddrisu, summed it up when he called for data to be treated as “core infrastructure”, just as vital as roads, electricity, and water. However, he admits that infrastructure will only be beneficial if put to use effectively.
IMANI is therefore warning against a recurring trap where surveys that generate applause on launch day, only to fade into policy silence. It calls for IBES II to become a “live tool for change”, not a post-mortem diagnostic.
