We have been living a nightmare in this country for the past few months. Are our cries not loud enough? What must we do to be heard? Inflation rates keep rising, and it is killing us! Transport fares are increasing on almost a daily basis, food prices are out of control, and fuel prices are alarming. This suffering has become unbearable for the ordinary Ghanaian.
According to the Ghana Statistical Service, an increase in transportation charges and rising food prices brought the rate of inflation to 27.6% in May 2022. This compares to 23.6% in April 2022. Professor Kobina Annim, Government Statistician at the Ghana Statistical Service (GSS), said that inflation rates for transportation (39.0%), household equipment and maintenance (33.8 %), housing, water, gas, and electricity (32.3%), and food and non-alcoholic beverages (30.1.6%) were all higher than the national average (27.6 %).
Inflation in May 2022 was higher than the rolling average from June 2021 to May 2022. Food inflation was 30.1%, compared with 26.6% in April 2022. Non-food Inflation was 25.7%, as against 21.3% the previous month. The margins between food and non-food inflation were 4.4 percentage points relative to 5.4 percentage points for March 2022 and 5.3 percentage points for April 2022.
The Eastern region recorded the highest rate of inflation at 31.2% due to rising food prices. The increase in inflation rate is evident across the country as Greater Accra recorded an inflation rate of 29.7%, whilst the Ashanti region recorded a rate of 27.1%. The Upper East, on the other hand, had the lowest inflation rate at 19.5 per cent.
Professor Annim lamented that if the rate of increase in inflation continued, then interest rates are expected to surge further with interest rates in the short term of the money market presently hovering around 22% plus.
The government must take drastic measures to save the economy which is currently in shambles. Let’s not pretend the economy is thriving instead of facing the reality of the economic hardship we are faced with as a nation.
Photo Credit: The Ghana Report