March 2002 Basic Needs and Nutrition Basket: Basic Needs Basket Challenges 2002 National Budget

The attention given to agriculture in this year's National Budget, which has been a repeated call by JCTR, is very encouraging. It is JCTR's hope that the budgetary allocation to this sector will translate into real action leading to improvement of lives of the poor.The JCTR Basic Needs Basket which estimates cost of living in Lusaka urban for a family of six -- taking into account costs for food such as mealie meal, beans, dry fish, meat, etc., and non-food essentials such as housing, charcoal, electricity, water, etc. was at the end of February costing K823,510. This is down by K5,740 from the January figure of K829,250. This decline is largely attributed to the decline in the price of charcoal which has reduced by. K6,000 for two 90 Kilograms bags. This reduction is associated with low rainfall currently being experienced in Lusaka and other parts of the country. The JCTR thus observes that the proposed K150,000 tax exemption in this year's Budget falls far below meeting basic needs. Indeed, it hardly meets half of the monthly expenses for food, currently costing K324,510. ''Instead of continuously strangling those in the formal sector in terms of their ability to meet their food and non-food essential requirements for their welfare, government should move quickly with its plans of broadening the tax base,'' says Muweme. This concern over broadening the tax base has been raised many times in the past.Irish Aid and Joint Country programm