Press Release

Basic Needs Basket

PRODUCTION ESSENTIAL
TO BASIC NEEDS BASKET DECLINE, SAYS THE JCTR

As the Basic Needs Basket for a family of six continues to experience some decline in cost, especially in the cost of food, the Jesuit Centre for Theological Reflection (JCTR) observes the great importance of agriculture to improving the Zambian socioeconomic context.

“Much as the total picture in the cost of the Basic Needs Basket is not predicated on agricultural productivity alone, a good harvest has a significant positive influence on the cost of essential food items.  It can be seen, therefore, that agricultural production and productivity of one form or the other is very critical and even the best way to increase people’s ability of meeting their needs, to fight higher living costs, to limit inflation and to improve the general welfare of the people,” says Muweme Muweme who works on the Social Conditions Research Project of the JCTR.

As production remains central to ensuring that people’s incomes allow families to afford basic needs of life, it is also true that all good efforts of productivity must be matched with good legislation that will protect, especially the workers, from the greed of profit maximisation at the expense of people’s welfare. That is the reason government has legislated time and again a minimum wage that is ideally designed to strike a balance between survival of and effective contribution of an employee to work on one hand and continued existence of business or any other form of economic activity on the other.

But like the JCTR has always observed, government actions, review of policy or legal reform must relate to people’s real life experiences.  Therefore the JCTR has argued that the minimum wage be tied to the cost of essential food and non-food items, or at the very least be tied to the cost of food alone.  Recently, the Government of the Republic of Zambia again revised the Minimum Wages and Conditions of Employment Act.

Chris Petrauskis, also working on the Social Conditions Research Project of the JCTR, says, “the recent amendment of Statutory Instruments 2 and 3 on Minimum Wages is a significant move in support of the worker in Zambia, though it still fails to guarantee a salary sufficient to meet all basic needs.”  He goes further to say, “In the new law, which must be read and understood by every citizen of this country, the minimum monthly entitlement for any permanent employee, including general workers, cleaners, etc., is now approximately K600,000.  This figure includes among others, benefits of transport allowance, housing, lunch and the actual minimum wage of K268,000 per month for a general worker.  The total monthly entitlement to a driver is now over K700,000, to a typist or receptionist is now K800,000 and to a qualified clerk is now over K1,000,000.” 

This effort by government is indeed commendable as it aims at protecting many of the most vulnerable employees.  However, the legislation does not protect all employee categories, including those engaged as casual workers, those engaged by the council or the government, those belonging to a trade union and those in domestic service.  All of these categories, including even some unionised workers, are susceptible to various forms of abuse by employers and also need protection under the Zambian Labour Laws, to ensure that they can afford basic needs.  The JCTR Basic Needs Basket for the month of June recorded the cost of food at K470,450 in Lusaka, K444,640 in Kabwe; K503,530 in Ndola; K477,350 in Kitwe and K479,810 in Luanshya. 

“What we see from these figures,” says Muweme, “is a situation where employee remuneration generally falls below meeting food requirements for a family of six.  If you were to add costs of other necessities, the gap of inadequacy even widens.”  

The more important issue therefore becomes how to arrive at a situation where wages will be able to meet the cost of food and other essential needs for a dignified human existence.  Should the approach be an emphasis on an upward adjustment of the minimum wage?   Or should we be emphasising productivity also?
The approach must take into account both.  First, for the reason that the Basic Needs Basket continues to demonstrate in a consciousness-raising way what are the demands of the socioeconomic context of Zambia.  Therefore a call for an upward adjustment to the minimum wage is a natural response to trying to fulfil the dictates of that socioeconomic context. The second reason being that the most effective way to addressing Zambia’s socioeconomic problems is through productivity.  The ability to meet the needs for food and other essential requirements of education, health, housing, etc., can only be achieved in a sustainable way by enhancing productivity in the Zambian economy.

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