The annual rate of Inflation has continued to drop falling to seven percent in this month of January 2017 compared with 7.5 percent in December, last year.
Addressing a media briefing in Lusaka today, Central Statistics Office (CSO) Director John Kalumbi said the annual inflation has declined by 0.5 percent in accordance with the Consumer Price Index (CPI).
“The decrease in the annual rate of inflation is mainly attributed to price changes of both food and non-food items,” said Mr. Kalumbi.
The foodstuffs include fish, meat and groundnuts while non-food items are oils and beverages among others.
Mr. Kalumbi further disclosed that the inflation rate does not mean a fall in prices of goods and services but simply shows a reduction in the rate at which the prices of goods and services have increased.
He said the food inflation recorded a decline of 0.4 percent from 7.8 to 7.4 percent and that the decrease is the same for non-food stuffs during the period under review.
He expressed happiness that Zambia’s annual inflation which rose sharply from 22.9 percent early 2016 has continued to reduce to only a single digit on a monthly basis.
He commended government for the macro and economic policies and measures it is putting in place to control inflation in order to bring benefits to the Zambian people.
On the staple food, Mr. Kalumbi said the national average price of a 25 kilogram bag of breakfast mealie-meal increased by 22.58 percent from K82.48 to K101.10.
He added that a 20 litre tin of maize grain increased from K41.19 to K46.46 translating a 12.79 percent.
He echoed President Edgar Lungu’s call of diversifying the economy from mining to agriculture noting that imported more goods and services than she exported.
So now inflation is compared to mealie meal?
Really laughable… ba PF naimwe.It has now taken you to rigging the inflation rate.
All the economic fundamentals are not making sense to me right now. My salary has just been reduced due to increase in PAYE. Imagine mow I pay more on PAYE tax than I paid last year and some guy comes to tell me that “according to his figures, economy is better now than then”. Would I believe that??
Eat other things and put those millers to shame!
“He commended govt for macro & economic policies & measures it is putting in place to benefit zambians”.
What benefit if price of m/meal is going up?
Technos should avoid mixing there statements with politics if they are to make sense.
“Mr. Kalumbi further disclosed that the inflation rate does not mean a fall in prices of goods and services but simply shows a reduction in the rate at which the prices of goods and services have increased.”
Ummm!! Ine confused is like comparing apple and mangoe
What’s the price for doom? People any increment on unga, should have a similar effect on doom, we don’t want people to have an easy way out of this dununa reverse sandauni, through this lowly priced commodity, when parley resumes sitting, i will move this motion, anyone seconding?
Go back to grade six.
What happens when lots of money is chasing too few commodities?
Is that so? Can you put into public domain how you’ve calculated the inflation rate. How is possible to have the rate falling when almost everything costs more? Why should everything be manipulated for political expediency, when it’s meant to guide planning? It’s sad for a country that desperately needs integrity from its professionals.
Meanwhile land ownership among PF cadres has increased like Lazy Lungu’s networth!!
It’s global…it would be interesting to hear what CK would say now that he is outside. On PAYE, mwatipaya! Disposable income dwindled! How do we stimulate a dying economy without consumer spending? We are not talking about the spending by the elite because their expenditure is largely externalized like Dora’s holiday went to benefit external economies. If you look at the 2017 budget, there is little towards stimulation of our economy. Everything was adjusted upwards. We can only hope that someone is listening and try to be sane for once. Give some relief. Eg reduce the interest rate, even a 1% will give some relief!
Come on folks be patriots! Maize is the new Copper. Our GDP is dependant on it now. If Zambians can stop eating that Maize there will be more for international trade and that will improve our earnings from Trade. Replace Nshima with mashed Potatoes and look at the other tubulars like cassava, sweet potatoes. Eat Nshima once a month. The good thing about potatoes is how easy they are to grow even in large bags placed around your yard, filled with soil and seedlings.
Only the elite profit from it and very soon Masanto will be profiting from selling us the GM seeds all because of our docile leaders who signed away our souls years ago.
Ba LT transperancy Intl in Germany has released a report about the 46 most corrupt nations in the world. Can you publish it for all to see where Zambia is ranked.
We are working hard as a PF Government. Kaponya (HH) and his Boer thug economic mercenaries Scott Mmembe are still telling farmers to restrict the flow of maize and cow beef.
We’re going to sort them out soon so that our people can eat. Kudos
I agree with Nubian Princess and Patriot Abroad (both Senior Bloggers),very true let’s fix these heartless millers- there are other staples such as Cassava- Cassava can be boiled fresh and eaten with the same relish be it fisashi, dry fish, beef, chicken or whatever Cassava is the most viable replacement thanks to its affordabilty- either that or rice in which case the govt would have to strategise on how to produce much more rice. And then againm true Maize is the new Copper- Maize kept the economy going last year so let’s be serious more about export of it.
You ain’t gonna put that cassava full of cyanide in my tummy. Cassava is just ugly food. Most people who eat cassava stuff look like turtles, cheeks puffed up. Yike!
Some governments awe sure. Inflation at 7% in this disaster of an economy. You are not fooling anybody but YOURSELVES. Wooooo
Kikiki ati sontapo. Fikala fyenu ba pf
….NEZ I’m not sure how old you are but one can easily guess…mind you a spectrum of people visit this site which may include your Father or your mom, your uncle, noble people clergy men…the most important aspect after perusing thru the article are follow up comments…some sensible….those against and those for…I know a certain priest who enjoyed visiting LT but has since stopped because of insensitive insulting characters like you….words like f00ls,,,id10ts are somehow tolerated…why don’t you use such if you so wish than what you have written above…sober up man
@scutinizer, “fikalafwyenu” is better that “f00ls or idi0ts” for your own information. “Fikala….” is fact while Idio…” is utter insult.
….Ken
…I take it that is your personal opinion so I cannot condemn u on that…but if u are in the same age bracket with NEZ, then u also need to sober up as well…….I never said id1ot and f00ls are BETTER terms than the expression NEZ used……I said somehow the terms I referred to are SOMEHOW TOLERATED…got it now eeh??
Another figure cooked up at the back of state house by a guy on a laptop with lungu looking on with a glass of whiskey in hand while a brai burns.
Completely detached from reality. People are suffering. In normal countries such pronouncements are made to show people’s standard of living improving.
With lungu, drop in inflation means drop in standard of living.
I thought you are export Maize to Malawi because you have excess maize in the country? Law of demand and supply doesn’t work in Zambia? Is someone playing with supply side to inflate the price of commodity. I can’t trust statistics in Zambia. The central statistics needs to publish figures than just talking. These numbers are doggy!
Inflation rate is not directly tied to mealie meal. The laws of supply and demand come into play. A staple food shall always be expensive, due to one track taste buds.
Inflation is the rate at which prices of goods and services change? Is this the economics I was talk? Let us be serious when we publish these statistics. The question is why do we shun our goods and services in preference for imports from SA for example? The answer is very easy to see, imports are much cheaper than locally manufactured goods. The law of supply and demand dictates that if too much money is chasing few goods and service, prices will go up. In our case too little money is chasing more goods and services as can be attribute to countless malls that have sprung up. The result in this case should be that prices should come down inadvertently. But when you apply the rate when no prices have gone down but are going up everyday, one wonders in whose interest these statistics are…
continued… are published. If not to please your masters in order to keep your jobs, then may be for political expedience. I have never heard of a country with a low inflation rate were people can not even afford to eat three single meals a day. Whoever is behind this must be ashamed of themselves. We want to see real statistics whose impact will be felt by the massed like in the Mwanawasa regime and not this ineptitude and lazy economic analysis.
Gov’t should stop funding useless CSO. this man is causing himself and the nation at large. how can the inflation rate go down when the commodities themselves been measured are skyrocketing. even the villiage people will know once inflation is low. please kalumbi just send that useless analysis to lungu, JTCR does a better job anyway.
If we read what he says it is really only about comparing the rate of increase in food prices this time last year to this time this year.thats where there has been a decrease.. it does not say , based on that, that inflation has actually dropped..
If it has dropped .4% from 7.8 to 7.4 then that js a drop say in the overall inflation rate from 22.9% reduced by.4%- to about. 22.6%. Its not cooking the books its all in the interpretation… read what is actually said in paragraph 4
See where the increase in mealie meal comes from nearly the same percentage
There is what is known as time value of money my bro or NPV. Meaning that that kwacha you have today is worth much more tomorrow. Meaning that if you compare the K1 you had last year to the K1 you have today, there is a big difference because K1 year was K6 today its k10. Using the law of physics in economic analysis using just rates is flowed as there other factors that affect the economy that can not be measured like investor confidence. How do you explain the drop in inflation from 22.7% to 7% and yet you can not see tangible difference? It it were the other way round inflation rising from 7% to 22.7% you will feel the impact head on. Let us not simplistic in analyzing our economy, after all economics talks more about the welfare of the general populace.
Those statistics are just on paper to show that some people are working but on the ground the statistics are different. Kalumbi thinks that he is the only one who went to school and that all of us are so stupid.
Kalumbi please, do not fool Zambians with your greed to stay in employment. even the way you seek, one would know that your pf. the same way priscilla Isaac behaved during the announcing of the 2016 general election results. may be this inflation has reduced in your pocket and your home because you have an extra brown envelop from edi galu ngu.
We have been around for quite sometime, no amount of cheating will blind fold our scrutiny of trends in our economic performance. The light at the end of the turnel is growing brighter and brighter . Go for it guys , we will get there very soon. Keep it up team team I can see you mean business
Very one can know who to read but they fail to critically analyse the information. Even if the write is wrong they will agree and justify. We need you need Economics for the real world not paper based.
ECONOMICS IS ONLY GOOD FOR ONE THING…….. IT GIVES ECONOMISTS JOBS.
NOTHING ELSE.
The inflation figures are true, the only reason inflation has gone down is that there is little to no money in the economy which defeats the purpose. Inflation should be a statistic for the people, now it is for government. What a shame.
Who is saffering a kabulonga or a shanty compound.we told u.how much is a pamela,cabbege and bread.let us be
serious people are suffering here
DO THESE PEOPLE THINK THAT WE ARE ALL UNEDUCATED CADRES THAT BELIEVE EVERY STATEMENT THEY UTTER. NO MAN THINGS NEED TO CHANGE IN OUR COUNTRY.
Whoever can believe this crap from Mr Bwalya through this Kalumbi guy is as useless as a used Tissue. CSO collects data from Chawama and Chitulika village i guess.
Zambia’s Inflation continues to drop, but price of Mealie Meal increased by 22.6%? I thought inflation measured the prices of goods and services, mealie meal inclusive.What is this rubbish you are writing?Always coming up with some out of town nonsense in order to defend a failed state. Lung’ s government has failed under the weight of its own inconsistencies. You can continue to delude yourselves ,but the real cost is seen thru the cost of borrowing. In Zambia interest rates are very high an indicator of high inflation rate and a failed a state.
Another educated fool, dancing to illeterate politicians drums in broad day light thinking he is the only i.d.i.o.t who went to school. Ladies and gentlemen Mr Kalumbi