Gap between wages and household needs

Many urban households in Zambia, particularly those entirely dependent on the income from one low-wage earner, are hard pressed to meet both food and non-food needs, the Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FEWS NET) has cautioned. "Recent analysis points to the gap between wages and the cost of monthly [household] requirements," FEWS NET said in its latest country report. Since the beginning of the year urban consumers had devoted around 60 percent of their total expenditure to non-food essential goods, leaving around 40 percent for food. The month-to-month change in the cost of living has been marginal, with a total rise of 4.5 percent from January to May, but "the gap between urban incomes and total expenditure requirements is nevertheless significant for a number of poor households", FEWS NET noted. Pointing to a recent "Basic Needs Basket Survey" conducted by the Jesuit Centre for Theological Reflection (JCTR), which monitors household expenditure on basic food and non-food items, FEWS NET said the "maximum monthly salary of a teacher, at Kwacha 913,000 (US $183) will cover minimum food requirements, but fails to meet all non-food needs". "At Kwacha 180,000 (US $36), the monthly wage for security guards is not even enough to meet minimum food needs, and certainly not enough to cover the average total basic needs basket, which has averaged Kwacha 1.09 million (US $219) since January 2004," the report said. The leading components of the food basket are mealie (maize) meal, which accounts for 19 percent of total food expenses, followed by the local 'kapenta' fish (15 percent), bread (14 percent), and meat (11 percent). "The rest of the items take up less than 10 percent, and include items like eggs, tea, beans, milk and salt. The most expensive component among non-food items is housing rentals, comprising 68 percent of the total cost, followed by electricity (13 percent) and charcoal (9 percent)," FEWS NET said. The report concluded that "changes in the prices of the most important and costly items - accommodation and mealie meal - will have implications for people's ability to purchase not just those items, but other essential goods as well, since expenditure increases in any one area will squeeze people's ability to meet other needs."