By Kellys Kaunda
BUT WHY UPND? DID YOU HAVE TO SUBJECT THE VEEP TO THOSE ECONOMIC QUESTIONS?
The question Costa Mwansa asked the Veep – lower inflation vs high cost of living can easily throw off most of our political leaders.
It’s a closely studied phenomenon in economics which makes it a question better posed or referred to an economist in the UPND communication team.
Alternatively, if the Veep was well-briefed before hand and she proved that she could answer it adequately, then it would have made sense throwing her down the deep end.
You want to do this checklist before “take off” because just because someone is Veep doesn’t mean they can answer any question.
Now, coming to the question itself, it’s one of the most important questions in Zambia today, especially during this election season.
While the reduction in the rate of inflation is a welcome development, it’s not the end of the story. The next chapter of the story is the cost of living.
Slower inflation doesn’t necessarily lead to lower cost of living. This is largely because slower inflation is not the same as prices coming down. It’s not even about your salary increasing.
Prices may slow down in terms of their movement but the cost of your food may still be too much for your salary which either has remained static or not increased at the rate that facilitates affordability.
In any case, inflation rates are so wide in their coverage, they do not mean much to most people. In Zambia, food inflation matters the most because this is what affects the majority of the country’s population.
The wages of most Zambians are still static or get very modest upward adjustments even if the prices of essential food items are not increasing at a faster rate.
Against this backdrop, UPND must be cautious about the use of the inflation rate as a campaign message – it means absolutely nothing to the majority Zambians.
The 2021 promise of a lower cost of living remains unfulfilled.