'26.4% inflation in November 2023 is not worthy of celebration' - Togbe Afede

Togbe Afede XIV, the Paramount Chief of the Asogli Traditional Area, has said it is unripe and unrealistic to jubilate over the drop in inflation in November 2023.

Inflation in November dropped to 26.4%, from 35.2% in October 2023.

The paramount chief said in his latest article titled: "BoG has failed us," that it is inappropriate to celebrate the drop since the effects of the hyperinflation are "still with us."

"It was interesting to hear Bank of Ghana (BOG) officials pat themselves on the back because year-on-year inflation had dropped to 26.4% in November 2023, from 35.2% in October 2023 and 54.1% in December 2022.

"This trend should have been expected, I thought, because of the massive price increases and exchange rate depreciation that were recorded during the corresponding periods in 2022. It is a fallacy of year-on-year inflation numbers – they tend to be influenced a lot by what happened one year ago. That is why year-on-year inflation may rise in a particular month even when the general price level has fallen in that month, and vice versa," parts of the article read.

He added: "You cannot describe what happened to prices and exchange rates towards the end of 2022 as “a blip” when the effects are still with us. The markets simply adjusted to the rot in the system. A return to the relatively lower inflation rates of the past does not mean prices have become lower.

"Year-on-year inflation rate of 26.4% in November 2023 is not worthy of celebration. Zambia and Kenya, exposed to the same global shocks, recorded 12.9% and 6.8%, respectively. And the US dollar is currently trading at more than 150% of its price (cedis) in June 2022."

SSD/AE

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