Published by the government of Zimbabwe
19 November 2008
Harare — THE World Bank says it is willing to provide the Central Statistics Office with US$200 000 to assist the Government's data collection arm to come up with timely and credible figures for the prompt implementation of pertinent policies.
The CSO has in the past failed to produce, among other economic statistics, inflation figures on time owing to operational and financial challenges.
It last produced figures for inflation in July and is now finalising figures for August.
Speaking at a media briefing, the World Bank acting country manager, Mr Nginya Mungai, said without economic data, it would be difficult for any country to make meaningful policies.
"We submitted the proposal early this year to the Zimbabwean Government, but we are yet to receive their approval," he said.
The CSO is the only body mandated to release official statistics.
Most listed companies recently failed to produce inflation-adjusted figures in their financial results due to the absence of inflation data and this has been a great inconvenience to shareholders.
CSO acting director Mr Moffat Nyoni yesterday said most of the data processing was being done manually, hence the delay.
"Data is rejected by our computers and most of the work is done manually," said Mr Nyoni.
"This is really delaying the data processing and that is why we are always behind with data."
Besides inflation, the CSO has also failed to produce key economic statistics essential for policy formulation.
In other countries, South Africa for example, statistics of, among others, inflation, labour surveys, vehicle and home sales are provided on a monthly basis.
Some of the statistics are even provided on a weekly basis.
Meanwhile, the World Bank says it also wants to provide US$1 million to the Zimbabwe Association of Church-Related Hospitals in a bid to improve health delivery services in the country.
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"Total Empowerment!"
This story states that the imperialist "West" will provide $200,000.00 (how much is that in Zim Dollars?) to assess the correct rate of inflation?
So Zimbabwe, under the revolutionary guidance of ZANU-PF and Comrade Bob, actually requires financial assistance from the people they regularly insult in the press to produce their own "official" rates of inflation?
This is simply incredible! The revolutionaries of ZANU-PF/Mugabe are going to accept imperialist funding in order to determine what their country's actual rate of inflation is?
Do you need a more telling example to see why ZANU-PF/Mugabe has failed the people of Zimbabwe despite their bombastic rhetoric? ZANU-PF/Mugabe cannot even calculate their own rate of inflation without the help of the "WEST"!
Can their be any more basic indictment of how terribly ZANU-PF/Mugabe has governed Zimbabwe? They cannot even calculate their own country's economic statistics!
"Total Empowerment!" (except when it comes to calculating inflation - then we need some help...........)
Another of those nasty sanctions directed at the people fo Zimbabwe. Add it to the hundreds of millions that is being donated for health, tens of millions by the UK, Another few hundered from the US. All of this equals sanctions against Mugabe. Or so he would have us believe.
More money straight into Mugabe and regimes pockets!