‘Mash Central most expensive province’

ONE person in Zimbabwe needed about $3 300 (US$40)a month, in order not to be deemed poor, according to latest data from the Zimbabwe National Statistical Agency (ZimSatat), with Mashonaland Central emerging as the most expensive province.

In its latest data, ZimStat said the Food Poverty Line (FPL) for one person for the month of November 2020 stood at $3 279, while the Total Consumption Poverty Line (TCPL), which include non-food items for one person was $4 426.

ZimStat begun issuing poverty datum line data for individuals in line with international trend. Previously, the national statistical agency focused its data on a standard family.

“In line with international standards of disseminating poverty statistics, the Zimbabwe National Statistics Agency (ZimStat) will, with effect from November 2020, disseminate the Food Poverty Line (FPL) and the Total Consumption Poverty Line (TCPL) for one person,” said ZimStat. The lines will be calculated using the internationally recommended lower bound poverty line methodology,” said the statistical agency.

The FPL measures the amount of money required to purchase a typical basket of food items needed to sustain an individual. In the case of Zimbabwe, the typical basket encompasses items such as cooking oil, meat (beef and chicken), roller maize meal, self-raising flour, soap among other essentials.

With devolution at the centre of the Government’s development strategy and given the variations in prices from one province to another, ZimStat will also compute its data encompassing individual provincial data.

For the month of November 2020, Mashonaland Central had the highest prices with its FPL standing at $3 627 while its TCPL was $5 411.

On the other hand, Mashonaland East had the lowest as its FPL was $3 118, while it’s TCPL was $4 166. Since the coming in of President Mnangagwa’s administration in 2017, some polices have been put in place targeting to raise incomes with the target of transforming Zimbabwe into an upper middle income country by 2030.–herald.cl.zw