The Ghana government continues to bear the brunt as Ghana’s inflation rate reached 23.6% in April 2022 from 19.4% in March 2022.
The figure is a record for one of Africa’s leading economies – reportedly the highest since January 2004, according to Samuel Kobina Annim, Government Statistician in the Ghana Statistical Service (GSS).
According to Prof. Annim, 4 divisions recorded an inflation rate above the national average of 23.6%, namely:
- Transport – 33.5%
- House equipment, Routine maintenance – 28.5%
- Food and non-alcoholic beverages – 26.6%
- Housing, Water, Electricity, Gas and other fuels – 25.0%
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Speaking about the situation, Prof. Annim said:
“Food inflation’s contribution to the total inflation however, decreased from 51.4% in March 2022 to 50% in April 2022.”
– Government Statistician, Ghaha Statistical Service (GSS)
The statistician also noted that ‘this is the first time in 29 months that inflation for imported items exceeded domestic inflation,’ driven by the expense in procuring imports.
War in Ukraine and a ban on palm oil export by Indonesia is said to have led to higher costs of imported goods such as cooking oil and gasoline. This is reflected in the overall inflation that surpassed the central bank’s target band of 6% to 10% for the country.
Meanwhile, the central government of Ghana had been trying to control the persisting surge in prices and boost the economy by cutting spending. As part of measures to stabilize the economy, Ghana’s government slammed an e-levy of 1.75% on mobile money in November 2021 designed to widen the tax net and have more contribution by the informal sector.
In the most recent move to widen its tax net, the Ghana government is considering taxing mobile money and internet communication services like WhatsApp and Facebook.
