Banking consultant, Richmond Atuahene says Ghana lacks indicators to assess economic turnaround.
According to him, Ghana’s inflation level meets the international accounting standard classification for hyperinflation.
He explains that any country with an inflation rate exceeding twenty percent is considered to be experiencing hyperinflation.
Mr. Atuahene noted that assertions of decreasing inflation and economic turnaround are contradicted by Ghana’s inflation rate being in the twenties, especially when compared to Togo’s rate of 6.8%.
This follows President Akufo-Addo reassuring Ghanaians and the international community that the country’s economy is on a strong recovery path.
During the presentation of credentials to nine newly appointed diplomats at the Jubilee House, the President highlighted significant economic strides and the resilience shown by Ghanaians in overcoming recent global adversities.
Speaking on the JoyNews‘ AM Show, Mr. Atuahene stated, “Let them use their own definition of how the economy is turning around—a depreciation. I mean, I am not saying it from my end; Bloomberg has just said it is the worst currency in the whole of the subregion. Is that the way the economy turns around?”.
“If you go to the market, you really feel the inflation and the currency exchange, so when people say the economy has turned around because we as a country do not have our own indicators, this multilateral team would come here and tell you that your economy is turning around, and then they would take it.”
The banking consultant pointed out that Ghana lacks a structured methodology for managing its inflation and key performance indicators (KPIs), relying instead on input from multinational organizations to gauge the economy holistically without considering the actual situation on the ground.
He highlighted that discussions with businesspeople and ordinary Ghanaians reveal a consensus that the economy has not improved.
“In 2016, the inflation was about 15.1 and the currency was 4.1. Compare that, use the nominal rate, and you would find out inflation nowhere near where we were,” he noted.
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