NPP accuse Statistical Service boss of playing politics

The New Patriotic Party has accused the Acting Director of the Ghana Statistical Service, Dr. Philomena Nyarko of dabbling in politics in an attempt to please her “political masters”.

According to a statement issued in Accra by the party, in an attempt to respond to issues Dr. Bawumia raised in his lecture on the state of the economy, the GSS boss completely misrepresented the facts.

The statement added that the attempt to claim that Dr. Bawumia was presenting cumulative changes in prices as inflation is not only a fabrication but also misleading.

“Dr. Bawumia was categorical in stating that he was looking at the cost of living. He made the point that the cost of living had gone up significantly in Ghana and used some price changes as examples,” the statement added.

According to the NPP, Dr. Bawumia's lecture also noted that these cumulative price changes did not mean that single digit inflation was not possible.

“I should add that these price changes do not necessarily mean that single digit inflation is not possible. It would depend on what is being measured and over what period. What we see of price increases for basic commodities in our markets over the last year is that they are increasingly volatile and definitely at rates beyond single digits”-Dr. Bawumia (Page 16)

The statement said this portion of the lecture was ignored by the GSS.

The statement also added that Dr. Bawumia's lecture further noted that the developments in prices of some common items, even within last year (e.g. maize prices in Bolgatanga market which have risen by 60% between 2011 and 2012) appear inconsistent with single digit inflation adding that this assessment is not based on cumulative price changes.

According to the statement, Dr. Bawumia's presentation was very careful not to question the integrity of the GSS.

“Dr. Bawumia pointed out that what the Statistical Service is capturing or measuring is not reflective in price developments in our shops and markets and most people in Ghana cannot relate to the talk about single digit inflation when they get to the market”, the statement concluded.