The Member of Parliament for Ofoase-Ayirebi in the Eastern Region, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, who also serves as the Ranking Member of Parliament’s Economy and Development Committee, has cautioned that Ghana’s recent decline in inflation may only be temporary if the government does not address rising production costs, particularly electricity tariffs.
In an interview, he explained that the current drop in inflation is mainly due to strict monetary policies implemented by the Bank of Ghana.
According to him, the improvement does not necessarily reflect real progress in productivity or better cost management within the economy.
“I submit respectfully that when you are not doing much about the cost-push side, that is when the Bank of Ghana will come in to do heavy sterilisation to suck out the money,” he said.
“So there’s very little money for people to demand.”
His comments follow the release of new data by the Ghana Statistical Service, which showed that inflation fell to 3.3 per cent in February 2026, the lowest level in several years.
While welcoming the decline, Mr Oppong Nkrumah cautioned that the figures should not be taken at face value.
In his view, the central bank’s policy of mopping up excess liquidity has reduced spending power, leading to weaker demand and slower price increases, but without addressing the real cost pressures faced by producers.
“In plain terms, people don’t have purchasing power,” he said. “Products are still in the market, but buyers cannot afford them.”
He explained that inflation is influenced by both demand and production costs. However, he believes current policies have focused too much on restricting money in circulation, while ignoring factors such as high utility tariffs, transport costs and input prices.
A major concern, according to the former minister, is the rising cost of power for businesses.
He said many producers are reporting electricity bill increases of between 24 and 28 per cent, which are gradually being built into the prices of goods and services.
“The question we should be asking ourselves is, has anything been done to arrest or contain it?” he asked.
Mr Oppong Nkrumah warned that if these costs remain high, producers will eventually pass them on to consumers. Once monetary restrictions are relaxed, he said, inflation could rise sharply again.
“In economics, if you reverse the method and the substantive issues have not changed, you will get a reversal of the scenario,” he cautioned.
