Cost of living skyrockets
ZIMBABWE has witnessed a constant increase in the cost of living since December, driving more citizens into abject poverty as the economy sinks with no solution in sight.
Authorities last year introduced the Zimbabwe Gold (ZiG) currency in a bid to stabilise prices and runaway inflation.
The measures have done little to stop the economy from tanking with some shops closing citing an unfavourable economic environment.
This has pushed citizens into desperation as prices of basic goods continue to skyrocket beyond reach, according to latest figures released by the Zimbabwe National Statistics Agency (ZimStat).
The data revealed an exponential increase in the poverty datum line, indicating
a rise in the general price level of goods and services in the country.
According statistics, the food poverty line (FPL) for one person in February 2025 was ZiG868,16 up from ZiG805,95 as of December.
The total consumption poverty line (TCPL) for one person was ZiG1 263,86 in February 2025.
This means that an individual required that much to purchase both food and non-food items as at February 2025 in order not to be deemed poor.
At the government’s official rate, it means an individual required US$50 to buy basic food and non-food items in order not to be regarded poor.
The FPL for one person in January 2025 was ZiG861,14.
“The total consumption poverty line, which is naturally higher than the FPL, was derived using 2017 PICES data and using the lower-bound poverty line method,” the ZimStat report read.
“It was derived by computing the non-food consumption expenditures of individuals deemed to be poor and whose consumption expenditures were just equal to the FPL.
“The amount was added to the FPL. If an individual does not consume more than the TCPL, he or she is deemed poor.”
The rise in the cost of living has sparked growing unrest among workers, who are demanding salary increases to keep pace with the rising prices of commodities.
Teachers recently wrote to government demanding salary adjustment to match increasing expenses.
Progressive Teachers Union of Zimbabwe secretary-general Raymond Majongwe said salaries had been wiped out as prices of basic goods and services continue to rise.
“The cost of living is going up,” Majongwe said.
“Utility bills, electricity and so forth — everything has gone up and teachers can’t manage.
“As far as we are concerned, workers have been left behind, civil servants and teachers in particular, have almost been forgotten. We have been reduced to mere destitutes. All teachers have turned positive to poverty.”
President Emmerson Mnangagwa promised to turn around the economy in his 2023 election manifesto, but reports indicate growing frustration among the generality of citizens over his failure to fulfil the pledge, with a section of war veterans saying he should step down. Newsday
