‘Competition, not controls’: ILEE boss proposes supply-side fix to high prices

Free-market policy expert Eric Coffie has rejected calls for government-imposed price controls, urging authorities instead to pursue supply-side reforms to tackle Ghana’s high cost of living.

In an exclusive interview with The Sikaman Times, the Executive Director of the Institute for Liberty and Economic Education (ILEE) argued that interventionist tactics would worsen market distortions.

“Absolutely not,” Coffie said when asked whether government should force prices down. “If the government forces a baker to sell bread below the cost of flour and fuel, the baker simply stops baking.”

He warned that such measures would fuel shortages and expand black markets, undermining tax revenue and quality control.

Instead, Coffie proposed eliminating “nuisance taxes,” reducing VAT and fuel levies, and dismantling bureaucratic bottlenecks at ports and within the energy sector to lower the cost of doing business.

“If the government wants lower prices, it should stop inflating them with levies,” he stressed.

Coffie also called for strict monetary discipline, urging the Bank of Ghana to maintain independence and avoid deficit financing, which he described as the root cause of long-term inflation.

Beyond policy reforms, he encouraged consumer-driven solutions. “In a free society, the buyer’s greatest power is the power of choice,” he said, advocating consumer activism, bulk purchasing groups, and support for transparent businesses.

“Competition is the only natural force that kills high prices,” Coffie asserted, adding that the state should focus on enabling new market entrants rather than threatening vendors.

He concluded that inflation and the high cost of living are not inevitable but stem from excessive taxation and government intrusion into the free economy.