THE Jesuit Centre for Theological Reflection (JCTR) has said that prices of mealie meal reduced by an average of K5,200 in Lusaka last month.
The JCTR said in the Basic Needs Basket (BNB) for Lusaka in August, the cost of a 25kg bag of breakfast mealie meal reduced by K5,200 from an average price of K60,800 in July to K55,600.
“The sustained reduction in the cost of mealie meal is mainly attributed to the recorded bumper harvest,” the JCTR stated yesterday.
The BNB is a tool that measures the cost of basic food and essential non-food items for an average family of six in a specific town.
The JCTR also recorded a decrease in other food items such as beans, dry fish, dry kapenta, meat, eggs, vegetables, tomato, onion and bread.
The JCTR stated that overall, the Lusaka BNB recorded an unprecedented reduction in the average cost of basic food items of K96, 300 from K945, 650 in July to K849, 350 in August 2010.
“The reduction in the average cost of food has been completely eroded by significant increases in the cost of non-food items. The non-food items on the BNB is made up of a lean list of essential needs such as housing, energy, water and sanitation, soap,” the JCTR stated.
It said that the average cost of these non-food essentials in Lusaka increased by K115,600 from K1,863,830 in July 2010 to K1,979,430 in August 2010.
While other countries in the world were affected by a rise in wheat prices, the JCTR said that it was commendable that Zambia was not affected. In Mozambique for instance, the cost of bread increased by about 30 per cent contributing to the recent violent protests.
It was noted that the upward trend in the cost of essential non-food items was triggered by a significant increase in the cost of electricity.
[Times of Zambia]
Bumper harvest speaks volumes……PF here we come.
As my learned collegue Mr Capitalist put it on another MRI thread Owe…more headaches for the PF. , I echo the same.
The JCTR is a credible organisation and cannot be bought and does it work independently. There are the trickle down effects of the numbers we have been talking about. People have started eating the numbers. Prices are trending down and people’s capacity to buy food is increasing. If you just visit Lusaka there is construction everywhere , cranes litter the skyline of Lusaka, absolute signs of a booming economy. Lusaka is expanding, ring roads construction is in full gear, there is a full hospital being under construction in each of the nine provinces.
We told you the economist is in charge, Your Kaponya insults will take you nowhere.
Numbers don’t lie. Food prices are coming down. This is great news.
in a normal country of able citizens the price of mealie meal should not even be an issue.mealie meal factories should not even be in the picture because they exploit.what the ordinary citizenry are suppose to be doing is to buy maize and go to the hummer meal but in zambia we shy away from the hummer meal because we will be seen to be poor.let a bag even go to 85000kwacha bambi tatwakachule
This article will either be ignored or disputed by the usual PF kaponyas who want to bury their heads in the sand. Seems like people are finally getting ‘more money in their pockets’.
THINGS ARE WORKING SO WELL FOR RB AND MMD BUT AS #5 SAYS THIS WILL NOT NOT GO WELL TO PF KAPONYS INSTEAD THEY WILL START THEIR USUAL INSULTS
Some of you thick heads, you wonder whether we are reading the same article. In as much as the mealie meal prices went down (by 5 pin), the food basket has increased by K116,000! How is this cause for celebration? In fact, this headline is very misleading from Times of Zambia, and they seem to have achieved their objective of misleading the public going by the reactions here. How can a decrease of K5,000 drown out an increase of K116,000? For the love of Christ, ToZ should learn to be professional!
Which shows the blindness of MMD minnions. The major story here should have been the general increase in the cost of living. How some of you have failed to notice this (MMD Chief bootlicker, Mr Capitalist, Chomba and Jealousy) is beyond comprehension. Did you guys even bother read this story, or you did the usual of reading the headline and then overtaking the main contents and on to the comments? Indeed, the best way of hiding something from an African is to put it in writing!
its still expensive though……
The report is twisted. The JCTR reported that prices have gone up on certain commotities due to the increase in Electricity Tarrifs. It is not a question of being MMD or PF it about life of the ordinary Zambian. And as usual the Toilet Paper of Z? has left out the ‘negative’ obsrvations made by JCTR
#2 MMD Chief Bootlicker- YOU CAN GET THE FULL ADDRESS /SPEECH FROM RADIO PHOENIX NOT THE The Toilet papers selected items. Who feels knows it. You think it is affordable, think twice.
Good Afternoon
This is positive news, full stop. I wonder why some people like to infuse politics everywhere instead of being confident in the economic future of our country? Besides, at this point, global indicators all suggest that the recession has finally ended and there is an upswing of the world economy, so why should Zambia be left out?
#7 Splaka and other pessimists, I recommend you read Robert Ringer, an economist I read some months ago. He says that the only thing that can create REAL WEALTH is PRODUCTION. If you have over-production, that is not ‘waste’. It’s more production, that can be used by business as COLLATERAL for loans, placed in the ASSET column in any merger, or sold as EXPORT.
It has very little to do with politics and it’s not even rocket science.
#11 Why are you so bitter? The poor Zambians you are talking about will be better off 90 days after Sata comes into office next year. Just be patient my friend. I feel the bitterness is eating you up inside. Just wait for your tribesman to come and save Zambia next year. Just chill man!
What is K5pin=$1,thats just a Disposable Plastic Coke in Zambia.Bread is at $1,what an expensive country to live in
What baffles me, however, is why statements related to food prices have to come from the Jesuits and not the Minister of Food and Agriculture? Am I missing something?
In the Copperbelt mealie meal is going at K52,000.00 and K50,000.00. You must learn to appreciate. The Zambian people are working hard mwe bantu!!!!!!
#14 So if you dropped a dollar you would not bother to pick it up? If you buy mealie meal once a month it means you have saved £12 which is not bad especially given the fact that food prices are increasing in many parts of the world including the industrialised north. Percentage wise a reduction of a dollar is actually quite high and you have to recognise that this is a business. People such as the farmers, seed producers, manufacturers, wholesalers and retailers all have to make a profit so that they can employ people. Even if the maize was given for free some Zambians would still whine and complain.
The price of our staple food is still too high for a common man on the street. Yes, the market forces do dictate the prices but the government should always be willing to bridge the gap for those who can not afford. If maize is readily available in Zambia then we should see the benefits to the people. I have also always said the farm inputs are too costly for a farmer thus we will continue to have food prices go up every quarter. Am still seeing a future were we will buy mealie meal at K30,000 for a 25Kg bag.
The article on the ‘confusions’ of the english language was quiet interesting. It seems LT wants to continue the english debate. Ba LT, prices do not reduce, they are reduced but they can drop or go down. To put it in context, you heading should have been – Zambia: Lusaka August mealie meal prices drop (or go down) (dropped or went down).
7 Splaka, it is you who needs to read carefully. The K115,600 that you are talking about is not the rise in food prices, but NON-FOOD prices. I quote for you “…….the average cost of these non-food essentials ………increased by K115,600 from K1,863,830 ……………” But I am sure that you have understood the report very well, it’s just that you are one of the people that PF/Sata/mmembe have planted to deliberately misinform the nation. They used to call it propaganda in the bye-gone communist days, rest assured that you will not cheat anyone because we are there to thwart liars like you, twit.
#15 Nine Chale, the Jesuit Centre publishes this “basket” regularly, monthly I think. They have been doing this for a long, long time now and this is common knowledge. It is probably good that the Jesuits do it as an independent organisation. You can imagine what would happen if instead the Ministry of Agriculture published the same information. Just see the criticism of the Times of Zambia on LT when they state facts that some kaponyas would rather not hear or read.
No 20.Ministry of Agriculture could also have done a good job,thats why capitalist says numbers dont lie,even if it was the ministry the same results would have been obtained.
Now can someone explain why these guys are busy collecting such data instead of preaching the gospel.Theology is from Theos meaning God,now theological reflection is supposed to be reflection on God not food.The ministry of Agriculture is better placed
This is just another political gimmick to get vote for RB, Zambians are you all that stupid?
Elections
My point still stands. You are busy celebrating a drop of K5,000 while everything else has gone up by K116,000. You are busy trying to catch rain drops while the river is right in your back yard, read the report again mate!
Elections
My point still stands. You are busy celebrating a drop of K5,000 while everything else has gone up by K116,000. You are busy trying to catch rain drops while the river is right in your back yard, read the report again mate!
And Nine Chale, it is not being pessimistic. We are just saying the report has been twisted to suit someone’s interests. Surely you can’t point out a small decrease while there is a huge increase right besides it
# 12 Nine Chale,
What you are putting across is jargon to our counterparts, the PF riffraffs who are phobic to this kind of news.
#25 Splaka, 5 pin is for bunga chabe while K116,000 is for a range of non-food items. Compare it to K96, 300 for food items in the sentence “The JCTR stated that overall, the Lusaka BNB recorded an unprecedented reduction in the average cost of basic food items of K96, 300 from K945, 650 in July to K849, 350 in August 2010.” Then you will appreciate that the difference is just an increase of 10pin. Waikata?
# 23, These guys(Jesuits) have infiltrated all spheres of society and their main aim is CONTROL.Then what has food got to do with control?Sin came into this world coz of food.Wars have been fought over food.You are in diaspora coz of food.Dig up their history, you ll be shocked at what they ve done and stand for;
Other names – Society of Jesus, The Company of Jesus, The Company
Founder – Ignatius of Loyola
Headquarters – Vatican, Rome
Members – 18,815 (2008)
Goal – Rule the entire world by bringing in a New World Order.
17# Chomba Malaila – Well said in your comments
# 14 Wanzelu – Your s is simply a very Bad Mentality, Mindset & Outlook. You cannot say it’s a $Dollar. With such view, you cannot become a good businessman. And I hope you are not a Businessman
Herewith – look at this break down just to give you an example
A) Saving £12 a month is equivalent to buying 10Kg Bag of Tilda Rice in UK Super Markets
B) Saving £12 a month will give £144 per year in you Savings Account
C) Saving £12 a month is almost the price of the TV Licence Fee that stands at £145.50 in the UK
Mind you – Millions of people in the UK do find it hard to pay TV Licence Fee of £145.50 per year
Do not try and show off for nothing !!!
*** 31 Independent Observer
Very good example & Spot on.!!!!!!!!!!!!
*** 14 Wanzelu
You probably cannot even afford to send £12 a week to your poor relatives in Zambia. As a nation we do not need chaps that think like you
#30 Many thanks. I think it would be good for PF supporters to highlight how their party plans to make the situation which according to them is extremely dire for the majority of ordinary Zambian citizens better? How will they ensure that the price of mealie meal goes down to 30 pin for example and yet ensure that the industry remains viable and the high levels of food security we are currently enjoying remain, or what is their policy regarding the subsidised farm inputs or land tenure and ownership in general? In short what policies besides criticism does PF have on increasing the productivity of Zambian agriculture?
26 Splaka, my secondary school teacher described people like you as incorrigible, you can never convince them that one bag of 25kg roller mealie meal and another make two bags. If they believe that the sweet answer is ten they will never change their minds, I end here.
#15 Nine Chale,
Good observation. The Jesuit Centre brings down-to-earth information for a number of years now. Their Basic Needs Basket (BNB) news keeps one updated on the economic reality back home. Check their website.
It looks like the government is divorced from matters affecting its people that is why we learn about such from non-governmental organistions like JCTR . Come election time, the govt and its aspirants will appear with Promisory manifestos.
To all pessimists,you much appreciate that food prices in Zambia are coming down and that we are self-reliant in our staple food.Didn’t you see the food riots that erupted in Mozambique cos of the hike in food prices(bread inclusive)? This was all cos Russia,one of the largest producers of wheat suspended the exports hence sending wheat prices on the world market escalating.Egypt is another casualty of this.Iam happy with the govt for putting food security at the centre of everything.
Anybody out there who knows what the policy of PF on food security is?
# 37 Chomba Malaila
No one,not even their great leader.
All these are happening because of MMD good governance.
to think of it, PF leader at his age does not even own a farm. what agricultural policies shud we expect if at all he forms government