"We Don’t Cook Up Figures” – GSS Tells NPP

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Parent Category: Our Country

Category: Elections & Governance

Created on Thursday, 16 June 2011 00:00

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"We Don’t Cook Up Figures” – GSS Tells NPP

The Ghana Statistical Service (GSS) has dismissed claims by the New Patriotic Party (NPP) that inflation

figures released by the service are not a true reflection of what is on the ground.

The NPP on Wednesday June 15 asserted that figures being released by the service indicate there is a reduction in the price of goods and services are untrue as price of goods and services are on the increase.

The annual rate of inflation fell to 8.90 percent in May from 9.02 per cent in April on the back of lower food prices. Dr Grace Bediako, announcing the figures said the marginal decline in inflation was because of the downward trend in the food and non-alcoholic beverages group.

But the opposition NPP rejects the figures and explanations from the government statistician. It said the GSS may be cooking the figures to suit the government in power.

However, Mrs Grace Bediako in an interview with Citi News said the service is an independent institution which does not cook figures to suit any government.

“We don’t cook up figures...It is not about what happened last month or this month, it is about a year ago so we just need people to understand what the inflation represents so that they can emphasize on it and not about cooking figures”.

Mrs Grace Bediako said the process used by the service over the years to calculate inflation figures is the same one being applied today.

She questioned whether figures over the years were to please the government in power at that time.

“Until we release the figures government doesn’t know the number and that is an important principle for anybody who wants to coerce you to change the number. Both governments have appreciated it and it makes our work easy and nobody is trying to get the number before we release it and that makes us to operate with professional independence”.


Source: Citifmonline.com