I have come to learn that "rebasing" is replacing the old base year used for compiling the constant price estimates to a new and more recent base year. It's worth noting that Ghana had relied on 1993 as the base year till date, implying our GDP had been estimated based on 1993 prices eg. we all recall how expensive mobile phone chips were in those days and are now going for practically nothing, and for me, I was in JSS or something and we could buy a whole waakye meal with ¢1,000 which is GHp10.
I bet you, it's good we have stepped into realism and this "rebasing" has been done. It's unthinkable (a must watch movie) to have used a 1968 methodology all these years when a new methodology was formulated in 1993.
It's revealing....
The new estimate implies Ghana has a GDP size which is 60.3% bigger than we thought and knew, (if you don't know where you are, you wont know where you must go or how to get there). Imagine your tailor or seamstress takes your measurement and sews a dress which is 60.3% smaller than your true measurement. I guess you will look hot and it will be dressing to kill, i mean you'ld strangle yourself to death in those clothes!!..lol
Secondly, it's worth noting that despite all what we knew and i have been thought and read, that agriculture is the greatest contributor to our GDP, i was being misdirected. Ok may be just me! But what about the various government who have relied on such data? 3 different administrations and "as many as you can count" number of parliaments (anyway JJ has no excuse since the data maybe applicable more to his time 1992 to 2000).
This second point is what really lingered in my mind for long. I wondered if our nations policies had not been based on wrong diagnosis and we may be moving in the wrong directions over these various governments. "eeeiii...ey3 m)b) eeiiii", meaning it's unfortunate! walking in the dark....
Then i started wondering what will all these revelations do to us, we have oil now. I then wondered again what the Gold and all those minerals were contributing to our GDP. Mining & Quarrying contributed to 2.68% of the GDP whereas Cocoa 2.32%, Other crops excl. cocoa 17.20%, banking and insurance 3.19 %, Transport and Storage 12.15%, Trade, repair of Vehicles and household Goods (our Abossey okai oo) 6.10%. Don't be disturbed, i'me done with numbers. It's worth thinking and rethinking about our expectations of the Oil industry. Combining the cocoa and all mineral, we barely get 5% of GDP, noting that most investments made in cocoa are from Ghana and thus the returns stay in Ghana, whereas that of Mining is from foreign investors and dividends are repatriated. How much has Ghana invested in the Oil and thus my question, What good will it bring to our GDP (overall pocket). Aside recouping the capital investments as allowed by laws everywhere, most human resources to be employed will be foreigners who will send part of their income to their respective countries. Do we then need to make noise about the Oil? Or we need to resource our Abossey Okai traders who are adding 6% (more than the total of cocoa and mining)? or equip our few manufacturing firms which are contributing 7.81% and growing at 2.1%?
before i take a break on this issue, let me test my eroding mathematical brains. If all these years we thought our GDP was 60.3% smaller and we projected our year on year GDP growths at 9% 6% etc and we claimed we were growing, then what does this new data mean? Does it mean that our GDP growth is a suspect and we may not be growing at all?..lol i doubt. tofiakwa!
I rest my case now.....
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