[ 2015-03-26 ]

Statistical Service challenges Bawumia over data figures
The Ghana Statistical Service is challenging the
New Patriotic Party (NPP)’s running mate Dr.
Mahamadu Bawumia over questions raised about
inflation figures released by the institution.
Addressing the media after releasing the country's
producer price index forum, acting government
statistician, Dr. Philomena Nyarko says there were
rather serious issues with figures put out by the
former deputy governor of the Bank of Ghana.
She said the Service is unaware of how the
Ministry of Agriculture came by the figures Dr
Bawumia mentioned in his speech.
“I don’t know where they are getting the
figures to compare with ours. We have a laid down
procedure – a methodology, for collecting our
information and I don’t know how the Ministry of
Agric collects their information.”
Dr Nyarko said the figures mentioned by the NPP
running mate will be subjected to scrutiny
We will also contact the Agriculture Ministry to
find out the methodology they used and how they
came about their figures, she added.
She also raised doubts on the figures mentioned by
Dr Bawumia concerning the price of certain food
items.
“When you look at the speech, the figures quoted
for the same items are different so even in that
speech there are inconsistencies in the figures
quoted. We can’t just get up and compare
prices.”
In a related development, Ghana's annual producer
price inflation slowed to 21.8 percent in February
from a revised 23.6 percent year-on-year the month
before, driven by declining prices of gold and
refined petroleum, the national statistics office
said on Wednesday.
The figure, which is high compared to average
inflation in the region, is an indication of
fiscal challenges facing the West African
country.
Ghana has reached an agreement with the
International Monetary Fund for a $940 million aid
package to stabilise an economy dogged by deficits
and widening debts.
The statistical office said producer inflation for
the Mining and Quarrying sub-sector decreased by
7.1 percentage points, driven by gold prices.
Manufacturing, which comprises petroleum refining,
fell one percentage point.
"Overall, the pull-down factors in the producer
index for all industry in February were declining
gold prices and a decrease in the cost of refined
petroleum," the government statistician said.
The month-on-month change in PPI between January
and February was 1.4 percent, Dr Nyarko revealed.
Producer price inflation is an advance indicator
of consumer price inflation which inched up to
16.5 percent February, from 16.4 percent the month
before

Source - MyjoyOnline

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