Price of rice, sugar, others to increase by 30 percent

Govt removes discount on benchmark values

2022 would be a year of economic misery – Ato Forson

Ex-Deputy Minister for Finance, Cassiel Ato Forson has said the price of some goods including rice, sugar, pharmaceuticals and cement would increase by 30 percent.

He said the prices will increase as a result of the removal of discounts on the values of some imported goods.

“Unfortunately, the Akuffo-Addo and Bawumia government has reversed the discount on all items using Benchmark values effective today,” he said.

Therefore, “Please expect prices of goods such as Rice, Sugar, pharmaceuticals, cement, roofing sheets to go up by at least 30% effective today,” he added.

Ato Forson who is currently the MP for Ajumako Enyan Esiam made these remarks on Twitter on January 1, 2022, after the GRA (Ghana Revenue Authority) released a document confirming the removal of discounts on values of selected imports.

In another Twitter post, the MP (Member of Parliament) also predicted that 2022 was going to be a year of economic Misery for Ghanaians.

Ato Forson, therefore, urged Ghanaians to brace themselves for oncoming hardship.

According to him, the Ghana Cedi was also going to depreciate to a point where a dollar would cost GH¢ 7 by the end of the year.

“Multiplicity of taxes and levies would take effect by End of January 2022, interest rates would likely go up again”, he added

He further stated that the government will be borrowing heavily from the domestic market since the Euro bond market was closed to Ghana for, at least, the first half of 2022.

The borrowing by the government would increase interest rates which would lead to a reduction in private sector investment.

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