An economist, Professor William Peprah, has warned that any increase in transport fares driven by rising fuel prices could have far-reaching consequences for inflation, food prices and the overall cost of living in Ghana. Speaking in an interview on Joy FM’s Midday News on the impact of the proposed 30% fare adjustment by road transport operators, Prof. Peprah said Ghana’s heavy reliance on road transportation means higher transport costs would inevitably be passed on to consumers.
“This is going to be a major challenge because we all know that when fuel prices increase in Ghana, it has an impact on transport. It will clearly affect the distribution of food and also other consumer items. “The challenge is that it is going to affect the general pricing index and inflation, leading to a major increase in the prices of goods in Ghana,” he explained on Tuesday, July 28.
Peprah further cautioned that rising fuel prices would increase the cost of fuel imports, placing additional strain on Ghana’s external accounts and the cedi. “Another impact is that the cost of importing fuel is going to go high, and this will affect our balance of payments account. That could put pressure on the cedi, and when the cedi depreciates, it also fuels inflation,” he noted.
He urged government to urgently adopt measures to cushion the economy against the expected shocks. His comments come as transport unions suspend a proposed 30% increase in transport fares while monitoring developments in the next fuel pricing window, amid concerns that another rise in fuel prices could further increase the cost of living. Ghana’s building cost inflation rose marginally to 3.1 percent in June 2026, up from 2.7 percent in May, although overall construction input prices declined slightly on a month-on-month basis, according to the latest Prime Building Cost Index (PBCI) released by the Ghana Statistical Service (GSS).
The PBCI, which tracks changes in the cost of key construction inputs including building materials, labour and equipment, also showed that the overall index fell by 0.1 percent between May and June, indicating that cost pressures in the sector remain relatively contained despite the slight annual increase. According to the GSS, the main source of inflationary pressure continues to be building materials, which recorded a 3.9 percent year-on-year inflation rate and account for 76.5 percent of the index basket, contributing about 96 percent of the overall increase in building costs. However, the Service warned that plant and equipment costs are emerging as the biggest risk, with annual inflation in that category surging to 16 percent, compared with 9.8 percent in May.
Although plant carries just a four percent weight in the index, it accounted for 20.5 percent of headline inflation due to the sharp increase in equipment-related costs. In contrast, labour costs helped ease overall inflation, recording a 2.6 percent year-on-year decline, while materials such as cement and steel became cheaper compared to the same period last year. At the sub-group level, plumbing recorded the highest inflation rate at 23.9 percent, followed by roofing sheets at 21.4 percent, reinforcement at 18.1 percent, glazing at 17.9 percent, and electrical works at 17.4 percent.
Summary from source