Harare | Tuesday
ZIMBABWE’S year-on-year inflation jumped to 103,8% in November, almost six percentage points above the 97,9% recorded in October, the Central Statistical Office (CSO) said on Friday.
The latest figure means prices in Zimbabwe have more than doubled between November 2000 and November 2001, and confirmed economists’ fears that inflation would reach 100% by the end of the year.
Costs for some items rose much faster than the general rate of inflation, with medicines and school books roughly tripling in price, according to the CSO report.
The news was a further sign of deterioration in Zimbabwe’s battered economy, mired in depression for the last two years.
The economic crisis will figure as a major issue in the presidential elections set for March, when incumbent Robert Mugabe faces a serious challenge from opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai.
Skyrocketing costs for basic foodstuffs prompted the government last month to impose price controls, reducing the price of items such as bread, sugar, cooking oil and meats by five to 20%.
Harare has since extended price controls to goods such as paraffin, fertilizer, seed and agricultural chemicals.
The result has been shortages of many of those goods, as producers say the new prices are below their production costs.
The economic crisis is exacerbated by the sometimes deadly political violence that has wracked Zimbabwe for almost two years. – AFP
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