Ghana’s Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta, revealed that several other African countries are facing serious economic difficulties.
He stated that forty-one African economies are experiencing severe food, fuel, and financial difficulties.
“Today, 41 African economies are severely exposed to at least one of three concurrent crises, rising food prices, rising energy prices, and tightening financial conditions,” Mr Ofori Atta said at a press conference in Accra on Thursday, May 12. Food, fuel, and financial conditions are now dubbed the dreaded three Fs by finance ministers.
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“That is just a ripple through in all Africa, and food prices easily about 34 per cent higher , crude oil prices some 60 per cent higher and global inflation has risen , we saw our numbers yesterday moved to 23.6 per cent, a good chunk of it being imported inflation.”
The Ghana Statistical Service (GSS) announced on Wednesday May 11 that the national year-on-year inflation rate was 23.6% in April 2022, which is 4.2 percentage points higher than the 19.4% recorded in March 2022.
The month-on-month inflation between March 2022 and April 2022 was 5.1%, the GSS said on Wednesday May 12.
Four Divisions, Transport, Household equipment and Routine Maintenance, Food and Non-Alcoholic Beverages, and Housing, Water, Electricity, Gas and Other Fuels, recorded inflation rates above the national average of 23.6% with Transport, 33.5%, recording the highest inflation.
This month’s food inflation, 26.6%, is higher than both last month food inflation , 22.4% and the average of the previous 12 months 13.5%. Food inflation’s contribution to total inflation however, decreased from 51.4% in March 2022 to 50.0% in April 2022.
Overall month-on-month food inflation was 5.8%, which is higher than both the twelve month national month-on-month rolling average of food inflation (2.0%) and the rate recorded for April 2021 (2.3%). All the 15 food subclasses recorded positive month-on-month inflation (see figure 4) with Fruit and Vegetable Juices recording the highest (15.3%).
Non-food year-on-year inflation on average went up again in April 2022 compared to March 2022 (from 17.0% to 21.3%). Only one out of the 12 Non-food Divisions had the 12 months rolling average to be higher than the year-on-year inflation for April 2022 for the divisions.
Transport is the Division that recorded the highest inflation in April 2022 (33.5%).
At the regional level, the overall year-on-year inflation ranged from 18.4% in the Upper East Region to 26.7% in the Central Region (See Figure 3). Central Region again recorded the highest month-on-month inflation (8.8%). All regions recorded positive month-on-month
inflation rate in April 2022 (above 2.0%).
Reacting to this on the News @10 on TV3 Wednesday May 11, Dr Obeng said “When this inflation gets up, it pushes up the other indicators, interest rates and the rest. Our fear is, the interest rate is even going to go up again.
“A this time that businesses are on the verge of bankruptcy and collapsing because of the effect of Covid, this is not a welcoming news. But if you look at the external factors which is about 70 oer cent of the problems that we are having here locally, then you will see that we are in such a mess of a problem. That is why we all have to sit down and find the way.
“If you look at the domestic factors, the exchange rate that ahs gone up so high that has depleted our resources of for about 20 per cent did also not help.”
