'Ghana's Statistical Service continues to churn out rubbish' - Prof. Steve Hanke

A professor of Applied Economics at Johns Hopkins University in the United States, Steve Hanke, has called out the Ghana Statistical Service for releasing inaccurate figures as far as Ghana’s inflation is concerned.

According to him, inflation currently stands at 65.75%. This sharply contradicts the figures released by the GSS last month.

The figures released by the GSS showed that inflation had reduced to 45% in March 2023.

In an assessment of inflation rates for African countries, Steve Hanke wrote: “Today, I accurately measure inflation in #Ghana at a stunning 65.75%/yr, 1.46x the Ghana Statistical Services' phony official rate.”

“The GSS just continues to churn out rubbish,” he added.

Steve Hanke has attributed Ghana’s current economic status to President Akufo-Addo’s “mismanagement” of the economy.

In April, the professor pegged Ghana’s inflation at 53.76%.

In a Twitter post on April 10, 2023, he said, “Today, I accurately measure inflation in #Ghana at a stunning 53.76%/yr. Under Pres. Akufo-Addo, Ghana's economic death spiral just keeps spinning.”

He also added that “By my measure, the Ghanaian #cedi has depreciated 43.26% against the USD since Jan. 1, 2022. Thanks to Pres. Akufo-Addo’s ECONOMIC MISMANAGEMENT, the cedi is JUNK.”

However, the Ghana Statistical Service noted that inflation stood at 52.8% as of February 2023.

Ghana is currently seeking to obtain a financial bailout from the International Monetary Fund to the tune of $3 billion.

This is expected to help the country adjust its balance of payments and also restore some confidence in the economy.

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