The Greater Accra Zabarma Chief and President of Ghana Zabarma Association, Alhaji Sarki Pro-Umar Tanko Abubakar, has urged his people to fully participate in the Upcoming National Population and Housing Census exercise slated for 27th June 2021.

Speaking on a live program on Accra based Amane Fm Alhaji Sarki called on his people to prepare for the country’s first digital National Population and Housing Census exercise. Adding that information obtained from the census will be used for statistical purposes and not for identifying people for taxation or punitive purposes as it was assumed some years ago in the Zango Communities.

He revealed that the Census will not only help authorities know the number of people within communities it also helps to identify the number of Chiefs, Imams, youth, aged, Mosques, Churches etc. The collected data will be used by the government’s in resource allocation, planning as well as other essential services to citizens

He further urged his people to be actively involved without fear of any discrimination adding that every Zabarma who is a foreigner should identify himself as such and those who are citizens should as well identify themselves as such.

He further called on his people to be vigilant when giving out their details to ensure that the right information is recorded during the data collection process. Census officials are working under; thus, information gathered will not be passed to any third party. Hence, the need for all to give accurate information. The data collection process requires the Census officials to visit places of residence and all structures to count and enumerate all persons regardless of their residential status.

He revealed that over the years the number of Muslims in the country was reduced due to lack of sensitization from the appropriate stakeholders. Muslims were called on to be sure of what is ticked on the religious aspect so as to record the accurate number of Muslims in the country adding that any wrong information will take ten years to be corrected.

He called on Muslims from across the country to desist from using names of their sects in providing information during the Housing and Population Census which according to him contributed to the problems Muslims are facing when it comes to numbers. “All sects in Islam are Muslims” he noted.

Source: wadataonline.com/Muhammed Faisal Mustapha