An Accra-based financial analyst, Michael Nii Yarboi Annan has cautioned Ghanaians to brace themselves for more hardship in the coming months as the country’s economy faces more challenges.
He said the Akufo-Addo government has failed to control inflation rate and the depreciation of the Cedi for months, which means the purchasing power of more Ghanaians will dwindle in the coming days.
“The hardship you are complaining about is about 30 percent, the bad news is that it will get to about 50 percent very soon and your pockets will be drier than they are now,” he told Piesie Okrah, a sit-in-host for Asempa Yetia on Power FM.
He said prices of commodities will rise freely as the Cedi depreciates more in the coming days, as importers struggle to get dollars for their businesses.
Currently, the local currency is selling at ¢11.62 pesewas in the retail market as depreciation pressures on the Cedi continue unabated.
This is almost 6% depreciation since Friday, October, 2022.
The supply of dollars in circulation is insufficient, fueling the free fall of the Cedi.
The cedi has since January this year lost more than 40% in value to the US dollar, a performance that has also impacted negatively on inflation, as quoted by Myxyzonline.com.
Inflation figures have consistently been soaring for the past 6 months, resulting in food price hikes.
The rate, according to the Ghana Statistical Service, has moved from 33.9 percent in August 2022 to 37.2 percent in September 2022, a figure most experts say do not reflect market prices.
One of the drivers of food inflation is transport fares which are fueled by incessant fuel hikes since January.
According to Mr Annan, the government has not been transparent with the economic situation as debt levels go all time high at a time the Akufo-Addo government has had to rely on the IMF for a bailout.
IMF Predictions
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has today predicted a tough 2023 as it cut growth predictions and forecast economic contraction in a third of the world.
“The worst is yet to come,” the global financial institution’s World Economic Outlook report said, adding “For many people 2023 will feel like a recession.”
A downward revision of the global growth rate for 2023, from the amount the IMF said it expected in July, has been made in the report.
Now, 2.7% growth is expected next year. It’s down from the 6% growth experienced last year and the 3.2% growth forecast for this year.
This is the “weakest growth profile” since 2001, excluding the acute phase of COVID-19 pandemic and the global financial crisis, the IMF said.
It reflects “significant slowdowns” for the largest economies as America’s gross domestic product (GDP) contracted in the first half of 2022, followed by the Euro area’s contraction in the second half of 2022, and prolonged COVID-19 outbreaks and lockdowns in China with a growing property sector crisis.