The Central Statistical Office, CSO, has announced a 1.3 per cent increase in the annual rate of inflation.
The inflation rate has increased to 16.6 per cent in December from 15.3 per cent in November last year.
CSO Director, Efreda Chulu, attributed the rise in the inflation rate to an increase in the cost of food and beverages.
Ms Chulu also attributed the increase to the increase in the cost of household energy, electrical appliances and other goods and services.
She, however, said the recent price reductions in fuel and mealie meal have not affected the December inflation as they were effected outside the CPI data collection.
She said these price reductions will be reflected in the January 2009 inflation figures.
And Ms Chulu has revealed that of the total 16.6 per cent annual inflation in November 2008, food products accounted for 9.9 per centage points, while non-food products in the consumer price index accounted for a total of 6.7 per centage points.
She revealed that the annual food inflation rate was recorded at 20.5 percent in December 2008, up from 18.5 per cent in November 2008 as a result of an increase in the cost of food items.
Ms Chulu said the annual non-food inflation rate stood at 12.9 per cent in December 2008, up from 12.4 per cent in November 2008.
Ms Chulu said a comparison of retail prices between November 2008 and December 2008, shows a 5.1 percentage increase in the national average price of a 25 kg bag of breakfast mealie meal from K57,000 to K60, 000.
And the national average price of a 20 litre tin of maize grain increased by 13.5 per cent, from K23, 000 to K26, 000.
ZANIS/ENDS/PM/SJK
too bad
Ni zee
:x:x:x
:x:x:x:x
Ba LT ba unfwa ati naya muku sendama, elo ba leta ama new topic.:-\”
nkani yavuta bati,how long will this go on.hope we dont go the zim route
hi supperboy,heard you were looking for me?
Really sad though balebenefita ngatwatuma western union
At least it’s still lower than the Zimbabwean inflation rate.
lol
Pa Zim bubble gum ni 10 million
yes baby,i missed you,is this when you are appearing when ma eyes are now closing,anyway thanks you are here,probably I will sleep tight tonite.
Too bad,when are they going to talk about economic growth kanshi? I think nakulilamo fye without hearing anything like economic growth.
:((:((:(( nyama soya…this is what we have been saying and fighting. its a pity that when PF speaks bloggers are ready to fight. this not Sata speaking it is the GRZ. Gongner RB for Zambia GRZ. the inflation has gone up. But Mr Nyama Soya is still on trips with Namugala. he is promising again. things are bad
BA NINE CHALE..WHY IS NAMUGALA ALESHINDIKISHA ABAUPA BA CHICKEN”RB”..
ARE U NOT GETTING WORIED?INE NATINA…IWE KA CHIEF COBRA IS IT IN ORDER AI!!!!!!!!?
We all need to go home and contribute to the national GDD!!!!
Listen to me people. Get your education or capital and lets
meet in Zed and make some real progress.
#16 :d
Some chaps were predicting the Inflation rate would not go above 10%by year end. What happened to those prophets of doom? A lesson to learn for all economists of doom: don’t yap and yell about things you have no control over.
That said, we are not the only country to suffer this; the UK is also experiencing rising inflation rate at the moment. The difference is relative and how we respond to and manage the problem. With RB at the helm, though, all we can do is hope as I see no leadership in there. Maybe we should turn to the Church for deliverance.
True true #16 Real Zambian, I an’ I hafe mek dat move, but education is de key & so first me hafe get me education down here inna Babylon. After dat, me soon come…watch me!
Ostrich-like, heads-in-the-sand Zambian leadership!! U never cease to amaze me!! Not too long ago, you were all saying u were immune from the unfolding world-wide economic crunch just so u could win a cheap election even in the face of all evidence to the contrary!! Now u come up with something new! Get real! I will wait until the Kwacha attains the same exchange rate as the next door neighbor Zimbabwean “dollar” (dollar?, what a joke!!) than I will consider investing in Zambia)
The onus is on all the zedians, especially in the Diaspora who have the experience and the education, to invest back home. There is no excuse to be abroad for more than a generation. The offsprings born abroad have a choice to stay, but please come back home. After all your foreign currency is worthy more. You have foreign currency, right? Otherwise, what would you be doing abroad and be worthless, huh? The govt. should manage the inflation and shouldn’t leave it entirely to market forces. We’ve seen this being done in developed economies.
Good morning Bloggers!! :)>-
What Mrs Chulu should just attribute the increase in the cost of inflation to the increase in the cost of Everything!! No need to single out certain commodities when its a known fact that that the cost of almost all goods went up between Nov and Dec last year.
:((
Bane we are able to do with or without the 16 MPs, atfer all they are all lavishly banched up in LUSAKA they dont even know what is happening in their constituencies. That SATA is cofortable enjoying 03 meals a day at the expense of poor Zedians. NOW HE WANTS MORE MONEY TO BE SPENT TO BRING IN FRESH ‘THIRSTY THIEVES’ GOD SAVE US.
:((:((:((:((:((
:o, Wow! what ever happened to the talk of single digit inflation! I guess Magande & LPM were riding on the BACK of soaring copper prices & the global downturn has simply shown us how vulnerable we are…the DECOUPLING argument (previously peddled by some respected economists) has basically gone down the drain!
Well come to the real world!!!! Living cost all over the has gone up.Blame this on the Americans,and the jews!!!!!!!!!