I ask this question because Ghana's inflation rate seems to be soaring gradually and i can?t possibly tell you where it's going to rest the current 15% rate as our economists have made us aware. i hope it does rests soon because i do not want Ghana's inflation rate to be a replica of Zimbabwe's, 'na lie' my brother!

These days prices of good and services steadily keep rising by 5pesewas.

Current transportation fares are a classic example, indeed passengers are really feeling the pinch, this they express by incessantly picking up squabbles with 'trotro mates'(bus conductors as known in Ghanaian street parlance).Quickly it comes to mind that this what the economy will encounter when the regime in power 'unwillingly' refuse to mint enough 1p and 2p coins for petty and routine transactions. After the elaborate campaign on the use of the Ghana pesewas, i least expected this outcome. I keep asking that, who really benefits from the unavailable pesewa coins? and who is also at the losing end? Critically, items which should have had an increment of about 2p are increased by 5p with ease, in fact this phenomenon is rapidly pushing up the price mark. We also should not forget that hitherto there was even the old 50cedis coin. To me its most unfortunate that this trend is coming at a time when Ghanaians have not been made privy to the budget that accompanied the redenomination process. So how much money was withdrawn and how much more was pumped into circulation plus how much was used in financing? We need and ought to know the answers to all these questions that are cropping up. I'm quite sure that there was a cost-benefit project analysis undertaken before the decision was taken to redenominate the old cedis for the new Ghana cedi. I shudder to think that the only benefit that is readily enjoyed is the fact that we are no more carrying large sums of cash for transactions as was happening with the old currency. While mute was kept over the shortage of the 1p and 2p coins and their possible effects on the economy. Definitely, a thin line can be drawn between the shortage of the 1p and 2p coins, and the correlation it has with inflation. Before some of you begin scrutinizing my economics background and think that probably i am postulating my version of economic theories on inflation, i must also state before hand that both my economics tutor in secondary school and lecturer in the university did not like me, bottom line, I was such a bad student whenever it came to economics. But for all i care, I?m a layman trying very hard to make some sense out of the mess, am i not? Gradually we are trying to meet the same very dire conditions that brought about the redenomination, and if indeed we do meet those conditions by not acting swiftly, am sorry to state that then the entire redenomination exercise has been flawed. Please don?t be surprised because the writings were on the wall long ago, the value is the same, abi?

Times are hard and one cannot afford to drop a pesewa. In fact how can you, when constantly we are being reminded about O.I.L(Operation Iraqi Liberation)price hikes on the world market , global food crisis and climate change, why would you want

to take things for granted and muse that it doesn't hurt to lose some pesewas to the?!

It?s no joke and i have just seen the Communication Service Tax (CST) advert on TV and

boy! a seemingly innocuous 6% tax will be deducted on all airtime services enjoyed per

the minute, from landline and mobile telecommunication through to internet browsing.

For me, how we all came to accept the unavailability of the lower denominations of the

pesewa coins is a matter that will rage in my mind for some time. I think that it should

not should not take much for national pressure groups or an organisation such as the

consumer protection agency to insist upon the Bank Of Ghana to pump in more of the

scarce coins as well as demanding it?s usage by all stake holders within the economy, be

it petty traders or transport operators before the situation gets out of hand.

One of these days when you go out to town and you start sweating and feeling thirsty in

the scorching sun, feel free to buy a cool sachet of water to quench your thirst. Let me

be charitable enough to offer you a no-charge consultation advise, please don?t complain

when you?re told that your ?pure water? is now 10pesewas. Just pay.