The Communications Department of the Bank of Ghana has organised a brief media engagement to provide some education and clarity on the current unusual rise in inflation.
The move is part of the central bank’s efforts to help the general public understand the dynamics of inflation and what is causing it in order to assuage the panic in the system that is further fueling the difficult situation the country finds itself in.
Leading the discussion was Head of Research Department, Dr. Philip Abradu-Otoo, who walked the journalists through the process by which inflation data is gathered and factors that can influence its forecast.
He emphasised that the current abnormal hike in inflation is not only attributable to weakness in the local economy but global factors such as the Russia-Ukraine war which is impacting the exchange rate, demand and supply of basic agricultural products, rise in oil prices, among others, are playing significant roles in the current situation.
These factors, he said, are beyond the reach and control of the Monetary Policy Committee, hence, any upward movement in them will heighten risk to inflation, as is being experienced now.Such risk to inflation, he adds, left the Committee with no choice than to increase the policy rate to 19 percent to keep investors’ interest in the economy.
Dr. Abradu-Otoo, however, was positive that inflation may not see an increase in the rate at which it jumped last April to hit 23.6 percent from the 19.4 percent in March.
The journalists expressed gratitude to the bank for deepening their understanding of issues and pledged to transfer the knowledge gathered to the general public through their write-ups to educate them and help them appreciate the situation at hand.
They welcomed more such engagements with the bank on financial and economic topics as these will enable them break down complex technical terms into simple language that the general public will easily understand.
