Claim: “Under President George Weah, the inflation rate has gone up,” a TV anchor in Nigeria asserts.
Verdict: Misleading! Inflation has not gone up in Liberia.
Full Text
As Liberia’s presidential and legislative elections draw closer, politicians have been campaigning vehemently to win the hearts and minds of citizens.
These election campaigns are fought on issues, particularly corruption, security, cost of living etc.
These issues are of great concern to the voters in previous elections as they are to them in the upcoming ones.
In an era of a global crisis fueled by the worldwide pandemic, one of the most critical issues of concern to Liberian voters is the cost of living driven by the prices of goods and services.
Over the last few days, there has been some controversy over whether or not inflation has gone up under the Weah administration. This debate was triggered by an interview with the immediate past Vice President of Liberia, now the standard bearer of the main opposition Unity Party (UP), Ambassador Joseph Nyumah Boakai, on a local news network in Nigeria, Arise News, during which he promised to rescue Liberia from its current leadership headed by President George Weah.
During the interview, one of the hosts, Ayo Mairo-Ese, suggested to Ambassador Boakai that prices of goods (inflation rate) in Liberia have gone up under President George Weah. She, therefore, wanted to find out from the candidate what he would do about the rising cost of goods and services if he were voted into power.
In response, Ambassador Boakai affirmed the host’s suggestion and assured viewers of his commitment to deal with inflation if voted into power.
The show was held on December 6, 2022, in Nigeria and was carried live on Arise News TV network with 7.5k viewers and hundreds of engagements.
Madam Ayo Mairo-Ese made the claim at 13:40-50 seconds of the over 19 minutes show.
Legitimate as the question may be, there has been controversy over whether inflation has gone up under the current administration.
This has generated a lot of controversy in the social and traditional media, as seen here, with the author of the latter encouraging President Weah to ensure that his promises to fight inflation, corruption and other economic problems are fulfilled.
DUBAWA, therefore, feels obligated to investigate whether or not inflation has gone up under President George Weah.
Verification
To ascertain the claim, it is important to understand what inflation is and to track the inflation rate before and during the tenure of President George Weah.
Inflation is defined as a rise in the prices of goods and services across the economy, eroding purchasing power for consumers and businesses.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) also has a similar definition which states: “inflation is the rate of increase in price over some time.”
What was the inflation rate before President Weah was elected?
To ascertain the claim, it is important to understand what inflation is and to track the inflation rate before and during the tenure of President George Weah.
Inflation is defined as a rise in the prices of goods and services across the economy, eroding purchasing power for consumers and businesses.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) also has a similar definition “inflation is the rate of increase in price over some time.”
What was the inflation rate before President Weah was elected?
President Weah was voted into power in December 2017. Before his election, Liberia’s inflation rate in 2016 was 8.83%. Data cited by DUBAWA indicate that Liberia’s inflation rate rose to 12.42% in 2017, a 3.59% increase from 2016 and in 2018, 23.56%, a huge 11.14% increase from 2017. Since then, the rate of inflation has been drastically declining.
According to the World Bank in Liberia, the September 30, 2022, latest report titled “Liberia’s poverty reduction strategy is supported by the rebuilding of core functions and institutions, rehabilitating infrastructure, and facilitating growth,” under Economic overview, Liberia’s inflation rate is put at 6.5% as of July 2022.
According to the World Bank report, “despite higher global fuel and food prices, inflation remained contained in 2021 and during the first half of 2022. Annual average inflation declined to 7.9% in 2021, down from 17.4% in 2020 and has moderated further to 6.5% in July 2022.”
Also, per the latest report published by Aaron O’Neill on December 2, 2022, under the caption “Inflation Rate in Liberia,” the rate of inflation is 6.9%.
Conclusion
Based on the above, it is misleading to suggest that the inflation rate has gone up under the Weah-led administration. Data from reputable sources, including the World Bank, indicate that inflation increased only in the first year of his administration but has since taken a tumble to 6.5% in 2022, lower than the 8.3% it inherited.
