"Maintain fiscal discipline" — Dr. Alhassan Iddrisu urges gov't

Government Statistician, Dr. Alhassan Iddrisu has called on the Mahama administration to maintain fiscal discipline and intensify investments in food systems, particularly in storage, irrigation, and transportation infrastructure, to help sustain Ghana’s declining inflation trend and address regional disparities in market access.

Speaking on Ghana’s April 2026 inflation figures, Dr. Iddrisu noted that although inflation rose marginally to 3.4% in April 2026 from 3.2% in March 2026, the rate remains significantly lower than the 21.2% recorded in April 2025, representing a sharp decline of 17.8 percentage points.

According to him, the current trend reflects improving economic conditions and easing pressure on consumers despite recent month-on-month increases in prices.

Data released by the Ghana Statistical Service showed that overall prices increased by 1.0% between March and April 2026.

Food inflation declined slightly to 2.2% in April 2026 from 2.3% in March 2026, while food prices recorded a month-on-month increase of 0.8%.

Non-food inflation, however, increased to 4.2% in April 2026 from 3.9% in March 2026, with prices rising by 1.1% over the same period.

Inflation for goods slowed to 1.1% in April 2026 from 1.7% in March 2026.

Dr. Iddrisu explained that the decline offers some relief to consumers since goods account for nearly three-quarters of the Consumer Price Index basket.

Services inflation, on the other hand, rose sharply to 9.6% in April 2026 from 7.2% in March 2026, although month-on-month prices for services increased moderately by 0.4%.

The Government Statistician further disclosed that inflation for locally produced items fell to 4.7% in April 2026 from 4.9% in March 2026, while inflation for imported items increased to 0.5% from negative 0.6% recorded in March 2026.

Dr. Iddrisu also highlighted sharp regional disparities in inflation across the country.

According to him, the North East Region recorded the highest inflation rate at 9.5%, while the Savannah Region recorded the lowest at negative 3.5%.

He attributed the disparities to factors including local supply challenges, transportation costs, and unequal market access across regions.

To businesses, Dr. Iddrisu advised firms to improve operational efficiency, strengthen local supply chains, reduce avoidable costs, and where possible, transfer savings to consumers through stable pricing.

He also encouraged households to carefully monitor their spending, prioritize essential goods and services, and avoid unnecessary expenditures as the country continues efforts to stabilize the economy.

Story by: Hawa Abubakar