JCTR FOOD BASKET – COST OF LIVING INCREASED 37% BETWEEN 2019 AND 2020
Newly released statistics published by the JCTR indicate that the the bare minimum monthly food basket for a family of 5 people has increased from K5,395 in January 2019 to K7,410 in January 2020.
This is an increase of over K2,000 in a space of 12 months.
To put things in perspective, what this means is that a family of 5 people needs at least K7,410 in income every month to live above the poverty line. Anything below this amounts to poverty and extreme hardship.
The question is how many Zambians even have an income of over K7,410 per month?
How many Zambians got a 37% salary increase in the last year to keep up with this inflation and sharp increase in the cost of living?
Less than 10% of Zambians earn a nett income of more that K7,000.
What this means is that the vast majority of Zambians are living in poverty or extreme hardship.
37% is the real inflation rate, not the 14% cooked up by the Central Statistics Office.
Fuel has gone up over 40% in the last 12 months, electricity has gone up over 200% in the last 12 months, mealie meal has gone up 100%.
How are Zambians going to survive with such expensive costs of essential goods and services?
The ZRA should also start basing their taxation on the food basket, they should not tax any Zambian who earns below K8,000.
The ZRA taxes every person who earns over K3, 300.
But does it make sense to tax someone who is within the poverty bracket?
No it does not!
We feel sympathy for the unemployed, the security guard and the maid who earns a salary of only K1,000.
From the K1,000 they need to buy a bag of mealie meal at K170, they need to buy cooking oil, they need to pay rent, they need to pay school fees, they need to buy Zesco units, they need to buy relish to feed their children and even talktime for their phone.