JOHANNESBURG Zimbabwe's monthly inflation rate for May rose slightly to -1.0 percent from -1.1 percent in April, the government Central Statistical Office (CSO) said on Wednesday. The southern African country has stopped measuring inflation in local Zimbabwe dollar terms since government legalised the use of the American dollar alongside a basket of foreign currencies for aPrime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai, who joined his long-time rival President Robert Mugabe in a power-sharing government, has prioritised rebuilding the shattered economy since taking office in February.
The last official assessment of Zimbabwe’s inflation when the local dollar was in use came in July last year when it was put at 231 million percent, a figure that independent economists saw as a gross understatement.
Inflation, once described by Mugabe as Zimbabwes number one enemy, had come to symbolise a dramatic economic and humanitarian crisis also seen in acute shortages of food and basic commodities, amid a cholera epidemic that infected nearly 100 000 people and killed more than 4 000 others.
Analysts see the unity government as providing the best opportunity to revive Zimbabwes economy once held as a model for other African countries.
Post published in: Agriculture