Cost of living skyrockets 65% in 2 months

By Tichaona Sibanda
13 June 2007

The cost of living in the country has shot up by over 65 percent with an average family of six now needing Z$5,5 million a month to pay for basic goods and services, according to the Consumer Council of Zimbabwe.

The CCZ said two months ago an average family needed Z$3,3 million for its basic needs. However the majority of workers in the country earn an average of Z$500 000 a month. Teachers, who were reportedly granted another pay rise giving them around Z$4 million a month, will still find themselves below the poverty line.

The inflation rate is continuing its upward trend, and is expected to reach 4,500 percent by the end of this week, up from the current 3,700 percent. This puts an ever-greater strain on the country’s struggling economy. Things are also set to get worse for the majority of consumers who are experiencing price increases on a daily basis. Economic analysts are predicting that the country’s inflation is actually hovering just above 8,000 percent, the highest in the world.

Two weeks ago water and electricity charges rose by 251 percent, clothing by 241 percent and transport costs by 150 percent. The average monthly wages are not keeping up with these paercentages. It means goods cost about 18 times what they did a year ago, compounding the hardship many Zimbabweans are experiencing.

For untold numbers of Zimbabweans, onions, bread, margarine and meat have become unimaginable luxuries. Taurai Chamboko, who returned to the UK from a three week break in Zimbabwe said he was shocked to buy four onions for Z$50 000.

‘When I left Zimbabwe six years ago we used to buy a sack of onions for Z$2 but that money can’t buy you a sweet today. When I arrived home three weeks ago a litre of petrol was Z$30 000 but when I left on Sunday it had risen to Z$70 000. It’s true prices are going up everyday,’ Chamboko said.