eBusiness Weekly
Business Writer
Mashonaland Central Province is now the most expensive place to live in Zimbabwe with an individual living in that province needing $5 410 for them not to be deemed poor.
Those in Matabeleland South Province need the least Total Consumption Poverty Line (TCPL) amount of $3 625 for them not to be deemed poor.
Matabeleland North Province used to be the most expensive but individuals now need $4 480. The province which counts Victoria Falls as one of its major areas is probably seeing a decline in prices following the Covid-19 induced slump in tourism, which used to drive prices in the past.
Meanwhile, the Zimbabwe National Statistics Agency (ZimStat) has begun issuing poverty datum line reports for individuals in line with international trends.
Previously, the national statistical agency had focused its reports on a standard family.
In its latest results, ZimStat notes that the Food Poverty Line (FPL) for one person for the month of November 2020 stood at $3 279.
The Total Consumption Poverty Line (TCPL) for one person was $4 426 in the same month.
“In line with international standards of disseminating poverty statistics, the Zimbabwe National Statistics Agency (ZimStat) will, with effect from November 2020, disseminate the Food Poverty Line (FPL) and the Total Consumption Poverty Line (TCPL) for one person,” said ZimStat.
“The lines will be calculated using the internationally recommended lower bound poverty line methodology,” advised the statistical agency.
The FPL measures the amount of money required to purchase a typical basket of food items needed to sustain an individual.
In the case of Zimbabwe, the typical basket encompasses items such as cooking oil, meat (beef and chicken), roller maize meal, self-raising flour, soap among other essentials.
With devolution at the center of Government’s development strategy and given the variations in prices from one province to another, ZimStat will also compute its data encompassing individual provincial data.
