JCTR - Press Release March 1999

PRESS RELEASE
March 1999

FOOD BASKET/ BREAD LINE ON THE RISE

The monthly survey by the Economic and Social Development Research Project of the Jesuit Centre of Theological Reflection (JCTR) shows that the cost of food basket for a family of six in Lusaka has been rising steadily. For instance, the food basket has risen from K186, 950 in January 1988 to K249, 920 in January 1999. According to the most recent survey, the cost of the food basket, for the month of March, is K252, 160. This is a basket of only basic food commodities. It does not necessarily meet the requirements of a good diet from the nutritional point of view. Moreover, this basket does not include other essential expenses such as, housing, water, electricity, fuel, transport, clothing, education, and health care, etc.

This is why we strongly concur with the President's statement last week at State House at the swearing-in ceremony of newly-appointed ministers and permanent secretaries that every salary that is below K200, 000 is scandalous for it is too low to sustain lives of Zambians. It was disclosed at the same function at State House that some civil servants and public service workers get as little as K100, 000 as their monthly wage.

We are encouraged to learn that the President has appointed unionised civil servants and other public service workders that beginning next year, their monthly salaries will not be less than K200, 000. We are also encouraged by the President's appeal to the World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF) imploring them to understand the situation the Zambian workers is in. The president went on to say that the promised increase in salaries is meant to bring back dignity to the Zambian worker, hence boost the morale and productivity and not fuel inflation.

The President disclosed that the government started last week working on modalities that would improve salaries for the general workers. In the light of this we want to make the following realistic recommendations to the government. As the government works on the modalities to improve salaries of the civil servants, the focus should go beyond the bread line (over K250, 000) to looking at the capacity for workers to pay for other essential expenses as indicated above. This should be in accordance with inflation and devaluation of the Kwacha.

We also join hands with the Catholic Commission for Justice and Peace (CCJP) in proposing that in order to promote greater equity, the base rate for beginning PAYE arrangements should be over K250, 000 (cf. Cost of the food basket). This will ensure that the poor are not paying heavy taxes on the little they may have for purchasing food. As the government strives to provide incentives to big businesses and foreign investors, it should also strive to give tax relief to poor and hard working men and women of Zambia. We trust that the government has the capacity and the creativity to find ways of compensating a loss in revenue that may come about through tac relief to the poor Zambians. We believe that, if taken seriously, the recommendations that we have made here will remedy the serious situation of scandal that the President is referring to.

March 1999 Food Basket