Government bullish of bringing down inflation

The government of Ghana is confident of bringing down the ever-increasing rate of
inflation in the country. According to the Minister of State at the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning (MOFEP), Dr. Anthony Akoto Osei, at a press briefing in Accra, he said as part of government’s measures to mitigate the crisis situation, it has set up a
number of fiscal policies including the recently announced removal of tariffs to cushion the economy, including the increase in prime rate by the Central Bank.
According to the Minister, inspite of the numerous economic hardships that have
bedeviled the country as a result of the rapid increase of crude oil and food prices on the global market, government is still optimistic about bringing the situation under control.
“The continuous rise of inflation is as a result of the escalating crude oil and food prices on the global market, but with the measures taken by government, the situation would be brought to a halt by the end of the year”, noted Dr. Akoto Osei.
Inspite of the Minister’s confidence in the control of inflation, he also ruled out the possibility of the country attaining single digit inflation by the end of the year.
Inflation recorded last year (June, 2007) was 10.7%, but has risen drastically to 16.88%, according to statistics produced by the Statistical Department of Ghana.
There is fear that the trend would continue amidst rising prices in crude oil on the world market, which many have attributed to continuous tension in the Middle East and
Nigeria.
A research conducted by Databank Financial Services concluded that June inflation is expected to reach 18.4%, about 1.5percent increase in the previous one.
Crude oil is now trading at $136.69 after hitting an earlier high of $140. But Akoto Osei inspite of the numerous challenges the country is facing was optimistic that government would still scale through to bring the situation to a control by the end of the year.