KOZIE'S PA

Paper vs. Pocket Economy Inflation only becomes meaningful when it has little to no misalignment with actual prices on the market. Government says inflation is now 5.5% in October, up from 5.2% in September. That sounds low on paper. But look at what people actually pay: - Transport inflation is 14.1%. - Housing, water, electricity and gas is 10.5%. - Services inflation is 11.5%. - And fresh tomatoes alone rose by 119.3% year on year. - Year on year (yoy) inflation on kontomire/Alefu is 44.5% - yoy inflation on fresh coconut is 30.9% - Yoy inflation on taxi fares is 30.2% - And that on ginger is 88.2% Rent, trotro fares and tomatoes together made up 37.2% of all inflation in October. So yes, headline inflation may be less than the lower band of 6% on paper, but if you pay rent, take trotro, and buy tomatoes, your personal inflation is around 37%. Statistics must reflect reality. Our people do not buy inflation on paper. They buy food in the market. They pay trotro fare. They pay rent. Until the official numbers match what Ghanaians actually pay, the numbers will remain just numbers on paper. Let us make policy that people can feel in their pockets, not just read in a report.