The Zimbabwe Statistics Agency (Zimstats) has revealed that the Total Consumption Poverty Line (TCPL), also known as the poverty datum line has increased sharply.
In a statement, Zimstats said that a family of 5 required $1 827 to survive as of August this year and the figure climbed $2 191 in September 2019. It said:
The Total Consumption Poverty Line (TCPL) for an average of five persons stood at $2 191 in September 2019.
This means that an average household required that much to purchase both food and non-food items for them not to be deemed poor.
This represents an increase of 20% when compared to the August 2019 figure of $1 826.
The majority of public service employees earn less than $2 191 while their counterparts in the private sectors earn even less.
Meanwhile, the local currency was trading at $15, 57 against US$1 on the official interbank foreign exchange market and was $21 against US$1 on the black market as of Friday last week.