While we grapple and occupy our minds with the “big issues” of our day, it is important to pay heed as well to the seemingly “little issues” that scarcely engage the minds of others.
And it is for this reason that I decided to monitor the manner in which traders and service providers treat the price of their goods and services; hoping to draw some useful lesson out of it.
The question of having a strong currency is something everyone in this country is concerned about—at least lately.
Like a viewer at a cinema, watching a movie being premiered, I have watched scenes of the roll out of series of measures aimed at improving the state of the Ghanaian currency. While I admit not being qualified to assess those measures, I thought of sharing some of my experiences with the Ghanaian pesewa.
Like the majority of the 25 million Ghanaians in this country, I buy sachet water, indiscriminately referred to as “pure water,” a lot of the times. There is no gainsaying that it is cheap and economical.
As a faithful consumer, I have watched the cost of the “pure water” rise in recent times from 10 pesewas to 15 pesewas. The transition from 10 pesewas to 15 pesewas invariably means I have to pay 20 pesewas for a sachet of water.
This is because of the convenient pretext that the vendors put out to the effect that they do not have change. Thus, the only way I maximise my gains is to buy either two at a go and pay 30 pesewas or four at a go and pay 60 pesewas.
I am sure you would understand why it is impossible for me to purchase three or five or even more sachets of water.
If I decide to do so, it would mean that there would be a 5 pesewas outstanding, which I may be compelled either to forgo or make further purchases of items which I might not need in the circumstances.
I consider this trend of events to be a severe limitation on my freedom to purchase any amount of an item I desire at a cost I am willing to pay for.
The sale of pure water is just a microcosm of a larger problem where vendors and service providers approximate the prices of their goods and services to the nearest whole figure (which is usually 10 pesewas).
I walked to a “waakye stand” recently and deliberately offered to buy waakye worth GH¢1.46 pesewas.
This was certainly a strange proposition to the waakye seller, which made her laugh out loud for a while and told me plainly that if she were to sell the waakye for me at that offer, there was no way she was going to find the change of 4 pesewas for me.
I suspect up to this point, there might be some reading this piece and wondering what the essence of this pedantic discourse is. After all, what is the effect of 5 or 4 pesewas on the pocket of the Ghanaian?
This brings me to the central point in my argument which I raised earlier. Even though it is important to keep an eye on the big picture by focusing on the increasingly dollarised nature of the Ghanaian economy, it is equally important to have an eye on the micro level—especially with respect to the manner in which the smaller denominations of the Ghanaian currencies are employed.
To the best of my knowledge, the basic Ghanaian currency unit is 1 pesewa. Thus even though I have no business determining how traders should price their goods, I believe I should have the right to buy items at any amount above the threshold amount.
There were talks some time ago about Ghana being one of the most expensive places to live in on the African continent. I believe one of the contributing factors to this increasing cost of goods and services is in our inability to fashion out an appropriate way to make the basic currency unit to work.
I do not understand the rationale of always ensuring that an item is either 10 pesewas or 20 pesewas or 30 pesewas. Why can’t the cost of an item be 11 pesewas or 18 pesewas or 22 pesewas?
I believe it is time to ensure that the basics are structured right. While the Bank of Ghana is taking concrete measures at the macro level, it does not have to lose sight of the workings of the currency at the micro level.
I do not think for a second that it was the intention of the central bank to release currencies into the economy which would not be used. The culture of approximating the cost of goods and services to the nearest 10 pesewas is worrying.
And it is so because of the virtual non-existence of the basic unit of trading in this country—the 1 pesewa.
For some, the concerns might just be trifles; but personally, I am convinced they are of immense importance!
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