NewsBawumia says Ghana's "paper economy" is not reaching people's pockets
In Sunyani, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia said falling inflation and a stable cedi are not reaching people's pockets. The figures support his point, but his own record in 2022 is part of the story.
Former Vice-President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia said in a speech in Sunyani on Sunday 18 October that Ghana is living "a tale of two economies".
The first, he said, is the "paper economy": the statistics showing lower inflation and a stable cedi. The second is the "pocket economy", and his question was how government policies are affecting people's pockets. He said economic stability means little if it does not ease people's suffering.
The paper
The official figures have improved. Inflation fell to 3.8 per cent in January 2026, the lowest in nearly 30 years, according to the Ghana Statistical Service. In September it was 5.2 per cent. At the start of 2025 the cedi traded at about 15 to the dollar. On 15 October 2026 the interbank rate was about 11.68.
The pocket
Prices that households feel are still climbing. In the September data, tomatoes were up 153.4 per cent on a year earlier, ginger was up 100.4 per cent, and rent was among the main drivers of inflation. LPG rose 18.5 per cent in the pricing window that began on 16 October, though petrol and diesel fell slightly. Trotro fares went up 8 per cent from 26 September.
The daily minimum wage is GH¢21.77. The latest Labour Force Survey put unemployment at 13.0 per cent, and 32.4 per cent for young people aged 15 to 24. In July, GNA and Graphic Online reported that 160,000 jobs under the 24-hour economy programme were "in the offing".
On this point, Dr Bawumia's argument holds. The paper looks better than the pocket feels.
Speed, not price
Inflation measures how fast prices rise, not the price level itself. Inflation of 5.2 per cent means prices are still going up, only more slowly. They do not return to earlier levels.
The 2022 jump
The biggest jump came in 2022. In December that year, inflation reached 54.1 per cent and food inflation 59.7 per cent. In October 2022 the cedi was the worst-performing of 148 currencies tracked by Bloomberg. The basic minimum wage for 2023 rose by 10 per cent, from GH¢13.53 to GH¢14.88. Dr Bawumia chaired the Economic Management Team at the time.
That year followed Covid and the start of the war in Ukraine. Inflation stayed high afterwards, at 23.2 per cent in December 2023 and 23.8 per cent in December 2024.
No policies named
Dr Bawumia promised "costed ideas, practical ideas, workable ideas". In the English parts of the speech, he named no specific policy. Parts of the speech were in Twi.
Good diagnosis, wrong doctor. He is right that stability is not enough, but in 2022, under the team he chaired, there was no stability either. If he says the patient is sick, he should name the medicine, what it costs and who pays.
- Streetnewsgh: Dr Bawumia's full speech in Sunyani (18 Oct 2026)
- Asaase Radio: Bawumia challenges NDC over broken promises, says economic stability must reflect in Ghanaians' pockets (18 Oct 2026)
- allAfrica and GSS: inflation falls to 3.8% (Feb 2026)
- Citi Newsroom, GBC and GhanaWeb: GSS September inflation release (7 Oct 2026)
- Citi Newsroom: Tomatoes, rent and ginger drive Ghana's 5.2% inflation (7 Oct 2026)
- ModernGhana and Cedirates: cedi interbank rate (15 Oct 2026)
- Ghanaian Times, Yen and The Ghana Report: COMAC LPG price window (16 Oct 2026)
- GPRTU and The Ghana Report: trotro fares up 8% (26 Sep 2026)
- GSS Quarterly Labour Force Survey: unemployment, Q3 2025
- GNA and Graphic Online: 24-hour economy jobs "in the offing" (Jul 2026)
- GSS CPI bulletin and GNA: December 2022 inflation
- Bloomberg, Citi Newsroom and Graphic Online: cedi worst of 148 currencies (Oct 2022)
- GNA and WageIndicator: 2023 minimum wage
- GSS: December inflation 2023 and 2024
Every factual line in this story is checked against at least two independent sources, unless the text says it comes from one report.