Adnan Adams Mohammed
Deloitte West Africa has raised concerns over the surge in inflationary trend in the last quarter of 2024 in Ghana and Nigeria.
This, the professional accounting firm believes could affect the rate of economic growth in both West African economic giant nations as a further surge is expected in December due to the Christmas and new year festive spending.
“The resultant of rising inflation is that, businesses face higher costs while consumers have to cut spending, worsening the ongoing cost of living crisis”, Deloitte, the globally acclaimed professional services firm, shared in its November 2024 Inflation Update.
Already, inflation in Ghana surged for the third-consecutive month to 23%, driven by rising food prices and election spending.
Headline inflation in Nigeria also rose to 34.60%, reflecting a further increase in the cost of goods and services.
Also, the Economist Intelligence Unit has projected an average inflation rate of 22.4% for Ghana and 33.2% for Nigeria in 2024.
This is expected to decline to 15.2% and 27.7% in 2025 for Ghana and Nigeria respectively, supported by improved foreign exchange stability, trade policy and base effects.
Ghana’s November 2024 inflation was driven by five divisions. They were led by Alcoholic Beverages, Tobacco and Narcotics (30.0%); Housing, Water, Gas and Electricity (29.20%) and Health (22.20%).
