Fact CheckPolitics

NDC Chairman repeats False inflation claim among West African countries

Claim: The  Chairman of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) Samuel Ofosu-Ampofo says apart from Ghana and Nigeria, all the other West African countries have single-digit inflation. 

Data from Trading Economics and the national statistical offices of some West African countries show that Sierra Leonne, The Gambia, Guinea, Mali, Mauritania, and Senegal have all recorded double-digit inflation.

Full Text

The  Chairman of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Samuel Ofosu-Ampofo,  says that aside from Ghana and Nigeria, all the other West African countries have single-digit inflation.

He was speaking on a program called the Pampaso Show on an Accra-based radio station, Radio Gold, on September 28, 2022. His claim was made while lamenting what he described as the poor state of the economy.

According to him, “When you look at the West African countries, the last time I checked, Nigeria’s inflation was about 19%. All the other remaining countries have recorded single-digit inflation.” Speaking in the Akan language, he added that Ghana appears to be the only country suffering from hyper inflation as a result of the Ukraine war.

The claim can be found from the 2 hours 27 minutes 25 seconds to 2 hours 27 minutes 44 seconds.  The show which was also streamed on Facebook has garnered over 7,000 views.  

Verification 

According to the United Nations, West Africa includes the following countries: Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, Côte D’Ivoire, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, and Togo.

However, it is important to note that, Samuel Ofosu-Ampofo made a similar claim in an interview on Ekosiisen, a program on Accra-based Asempa 94.7FM on June 14. This claim was also rated false after a DUBAWA fact check

Since the claim was again made in September, DUBAWA  decided to use inflation rates for August in all 16 West African countries to find out if his claim is true this time round. 

Inflation is defined as the rate of increase in prices over a given period. It can occur when prices rise due to increases in production costs, such as raw materials and wages.

We used the inflation rates for August because for an inflation rate to be calculated, the month has to end and since September has not ended at the time of filing this fact check, we had to use August.

We used data from the national statistical office of some West African countries and Trading Economics, a financial agency that provides economic statistics of several countries.

In our research, DUBAWA found that out of 16 West African countries, eight (8) countries had recorded double-digit inflation rates. These countries are Ghana, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, The Gambia, Guinea, Mauritania, Senegal, and Burkina Faso.

And Cape Verde, Benin, Côte D’Ivoire, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Niger, Togo, and Mali, are the only countries that have recorded inflation rates of 6.6%, -0.3%, 6.2%, 9.1%,6.28%, 3.8%, 6.9% and 7.5% respectively.

However, countries like The Gambia, Guinea Liberia, Mali, and Niger had their latest inflation rates recorded either in February, July or June as cited in Figure 1. 

Inflation Rates in West African Countries In August
CountryAugust
Ghana33.9%
Nigeria20.52%
Sierra Leonne 28.15%
The Gambia12.3% (July)
Guinea12.5% (June)
Benin-0.3%
Burkina Faso18.1%
Cape Verde6.6%
Côte D’Ivoire6.2%
Guinea-Bissau9.1%
Liberia6.28% (July)
Mali7.5% (February)
Mauritania11.1%
Niger3.8% (July)
Senegal11.3%
Togo6.9%
Figure 1

Given this, it is clear that Ghana has the highest inflation rate in West Africa, with 33.9%. Benin comes at the bottom with -0.3%, the lowest inflation rate in the subregion as of writing this report. 

Conclusion 

Sierra Leone, the Gambia, Guinea, Mauritania, and Senegal have all recorded double-digit inflation; therefore, the claim that aside from Ghana and Nigeria all the other West African countries have recorded single-digit inflation is completely false. 

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