Former President John Dramani Mahama has claimed that Ghana currently has the highest food inflation rate in the world.
According to him, the inflation rate which stands at 122% makes it the lead in globe.
Mr. Mahama made the claim on his Facebook page on Friday, November 4, 2022.
He further took a swipe at President Akufo-Addo’s flagship Planting for Food and Jobs programme noting that it has been mismanaged.
“Ghana is on record as having the highest food inflation in the world at 122%, notwithstanding the much touted but grossly mismanaged Planting for Food and Jobs programme.
He also bemoaned the low patronage of the government’s financial instrument as T-bills remain undersubscribed.
“We are grappling with treasury bill rates of about 30% as local investors in our financial instruments suffer huge risks associated with lending to government.
“We are also experiencing massive reverse capital flows as investors lose what is left of their confidence in our economy and pull out in droves,” he added.
However, data from the Ghana Statistical Service (GSS) show that the country’s food inflation in September 2022, was 37.8%.
This means Mr. Mahama’s claims backed by his 122% food inflation rate are contrary to the official figures produced by the Ghana Statistical Service (GSS).
The breakdown of the GSS data is as follows
Water (58.9%), Milk, other dairy products and eggs (49.0%), Sugar, confectionery and desserts (48.0%), Cereals and cereal products (46.0%), Fruit and vegetable juices (45.2%) and Fish and other seafood (44.5%).
The rest included Fruits and nuts (44.4%), Tea, maté and other plant products for infusion (40.0%), Oils and fats (39.3%), Live animals, meat and other parts of slaughtered land animals (38.8%) and Overall food inflation (37.8%).
