paul a acquah : workshop on the general data dissemination systems ( gdds ) opening address by dr paul a acquah, governor of the bank of ghana, at the workshop on the general data dissemination systems ( gdds ), accra, 17 august 2005. * * * mr. chairman, distinguished stakeholders, ladies and gentlemen, i deem it an honour and at the same time necessary to be part of this important workshop and i appreciate the opportunity to give the opening address. you would agree with me that the appetite for statistics and other information on the economy has increased considerably in this country and that users have become more resourceful in the analysis and use of data. this growing interest has been motivated by a desire to make assessments of how far we are from our national objectives, be they on growth, inflation, income distribution and incidence of extreme poverty or how distant or close we are to the millennium development goals. all this requires a robust and responsive statistical system to monitor developments and to allow policy changes to meet changing demands. mr. chairman, statistics do not only serve national purposes but they have global implications and it is a significant development that ghana has become part of the gdds platform. the gdds requires a good set of principles for routine data dissemination. adherence to its guidelines should enhance the usefulness of the data and provide users with valuable information to plan their work and programs. it also serves as a yardstick by which ghana can judge its performance in the field of statistics. one important outcome of the gdds platform is the collaboration with other statistical providers, and the fostering of a network among institutions. ghana ’ s adherence to the gdds should ultimately lead us to a strengthened statistical system. i am very sure we all agree on the usefulness of data and there would be no need to run you through that. however, we should acknowledge that good statistics as collected according to agreed international best practices, using appropriate methods for data collection, processing and dissemination are crucial as a tool for national development. accurate and timely data would allow us to formulate sound policies, effectively compare our progress over time and space and also set benchmarks for measuring progress in the future. ladies and gentlemen, it is however of paramount importance that the data generation process is thoroughly understood so that the appropriate interpretations could be made. economic statistics are often only an approximation of the underlying reality they are attempting to measure. even where the data can be perfectly measured there is often disc

sector to specific shocks and propagation mechanisms with cross - border and cross - sector dimensions ; the definition of reporting and disclosure requirements ; macro - prudential regulation related to pro - cyclicality, leverage, risk concentration and liquidity mismatch. directive 2002 / 87 / ec of the european parliament and of the council of 16 december 2002 on the supplementary supervision of credit institutions, insurance undertakings and investment firms ( oj l 35, 11. 2. 2003, p. 1 ). fifth, in order to conduct macro - prudential supervision, it is necessary to have access to all the relevant information, including from systemically relevant institutions. this requires the ecb to participate in the relevant colleges of supervisors of major banking groups. there also needs to be a full and proper exchange of information between national and european supervisors. the decentralised structure of the eurosystem permits strong coordination between the national central banks and the ecb. any european supervisory structure will have to rely on a combination of centralised decision - making and de - centralised implementation. the eurosystem ’ s experience can be very useful in this respect. on the other hand, in some countries, like germany or austria, where the supervisory authorities are not part of the central bank, the supervisors consider that they cannot deliver information on their own institutions to european authorities for reasons of confidentiality. this does not make sense in a single financial market. these obstacles have to be removed rapidly. in order to overcome the disincentives to provide information on domestic banking systems, which arises from the fact that countries compete in a single financial market, a strong and independent institution at the centre of the european framework is needed, an institution which can safeguard confidentiality and pursue the interests of the union. at present, the european supervisory bodies, constructed on the lamfalussy framework, have a very weak centre, which acts mainly as a secretariat. building on these structures does not – in my view – give national authorities the guarantees or incentives they need to cooperate effectively. conclusions to conclude, let me summarise my main points as a basis for the discussion today. first, the european supervisory framework needs to be overhauled, in the light of recent experiences. this is certainly the case in respect of the euro area. we cannot afford to let this crisis go to waste. for that, it has created too much havoc. the people of europe are suffering from the fallout of the financial crisis. they now expect their leaders