• Government must come up with measures and strategies to mitigate the effects of rising costs of commodities.
• Households are at the receiving end of all this high cost of living.
• The taskforce should study the situation on a continuous basis.
A Non-Governmental Organization has urged government to urgently form a task force to address the escalating prices of major commodities in the country.
Born Short Living Tall Executive Director Ntalasha Chisha told Money FM News that the task force should include ministers, economists, personnel from the central bank and members of Civil Society Organizations to study the high cost of living on a continuous basis.
Mr. Chisha observed that most traders and vendors dealing with daily consumer goods have taken advantage of the current economic instability to increase prices citing the Covid-19 pandemic and the depreciation of the Kwacha.
He noted that with the increase in food expenditure, households will have less money to spend on consumer goods, investment in education, health and their general livelihood.
“It is important to recognize that the household is at the receiving end of all this high cost of living as a result, there is need to look into the situation at the individual or household level especially because the expenditure on food forms a large proportion of the budget of many poor families.”
“In this light, BSLT Zambia urges Government to form a task force urgently which will include ministers, economists, personnel from the central bank and members of Civil Society Organizations to study the situation on a continuous basis so as to recommend actions as would be necessary from time to time, until stabilization and normalcy is achieved,” Mr. Chisha stated.
Mr. Chisha said failure by Government to move in quickly to arrest the situation will damage the nation’s macroeconomic stability.
“We feel that if the Government does not move in quickly to arrest this situation, it will damage the nation’s macroeconomic stability and sink the nation into depths of poverty. It is the duty of the Government to cushion the Zambian consumer against the rising commodity costs otherwise the Zambian people will begin dying of hunger,” he added.
