Zim basket rises to ZWL4,000

ZTN Reporter

AN average Zimbabwean family of five now requires at least ZWL4 000 about US$250 at the interbank rate, to meet its basic needs as of Wednesday, a 26,5 percent jump from the October figure of ZWL3 160, the Consumer Council of Zimbabwe (CCZ) has said.

CCZ’s Executive Director, Rosemary Siyachitema, told ZTN that the consumer watchdog had resorted to releasing data weekly to keep up with a runaway exchange rate and persistent inflationary pressures.

“The whole basket is now around ZWL$4 000 up from around ZWL$3 900. It has been going up exponentially and we now release data weekly to keep up,” Siyachitema said.

This comes as the Zimbabwe National Statistics Agency (ZimStat) earlier this week said that the Total Consumption Poverty Line (TCPL), commonly referred to as the Poverty Datum Line (PDL), for an average of five persons increased by 44.2 percent in October.

The TCPL for the month of October stood at $3 160, from $2 192 for the same family in September.

“This represents an increase of 44.2 per cent when compared to the September 2019 figure of $2, 191.62,” ZimStat said.

Runaway inflation has driven the majority of Zimbabweans below the Poverty Datum Line as many of those formally employed are earning less than $1 000 per month.