Poverty levels still high – JCTR

THE Jesuit Centre for Theological Reflection (JCTR) says the cost of living in Zambia is still high, despite the inflation rate being stable in 2011.
JCTR information officer Twaambo Kanene-Mwale says the Basic Needs Basket (BNB) analysis for 2011 shows that the cost of living remained consistently over K2.9 million for an average family of six.
Mrs Kanene-Mwale said this in a statement issued in Lusaka at the weekend.
“When the inflation rate is stable, it is expected that the purchasing power will also remain stable. However, while 2011 was a good year at a macro-economic level, at a micro level the cost of living remained high and this may be exacerbated by the debt crisis with the Kwacha weakening and a decline in purchasing,” Mrs Kanene-Mwale said.
She said Zambia has experienced profound improvements in macro-economic performance in the last decade, having recently attained middle-income status.
Mrs Kanene-Mwale said there has been consistent improvement in gross domestic product at six percent in 2011 and a drastic stability in the inflation rate from around 30 percent in 2000, to an average of 7.2 percent in 2011.
The minimum cost for an average family of six to meet basic needs was K2.9 million for the month of December and the JCTR December release projects the cost of food items at K818, 750 and the cost of essential non-food items at about K2 million for Lusaka residents.
She said Zambians should begin to realise the benefits of macroeconomic improvements, especially in relation to inflation, with a commensurate reduction in the price of commodities.
Mrs Kanene-Mwale said a stable inflation rate reduces the severity of the impact of economic recession, allowing the labour market to adjust to changes.
He said the Patriotic Front (PF) government should sustain the economic gains of the last decade and remain fully cognisant of the practical anxieties of global developments on the average Zambian.
Mrs Kanene-Mwale said the cost of living in Zambia continues to be high with an estimated poverty rate of 60 percent and in December, the price of mealie meal and bread reduced nominally.