December 2002 Basic Needs and Nutrition Basket: Year 2002 Characterized by Disturbing Social Challenges, Observes JCTR
Abstract
The last twelve months of 2002 have seen a serious deterioration in the social conditions of most Zambian people, says the Economic and Social Development Research Project of the Jesuit Centre for Theological Reflection (JCTR).
This situation should be seen, however, as a consequence of long-standing problems coupled with unexpected setbacks such as the pull out of Anglo-American and the adverse weather experienced in the 2001-2002 agricultural season. The most unfortunate thing about Zambia’s socio-economic problems is that they have tended to reinforce each other in ways that have made resolving them extremely difficult.
Description
The JCTR Basic Needs Basket that measures cost of living for a family of six in Lusaka points to the fact that the cost of food, particularly mealie meal, still accounts for much of the rising cost of living in Zambia. A review of trends in the cost of food for the year 2002 reveals that most of the sharp rises in the overall cost of food are associated with increases in the price of mealie meal.