The Editor really presented an exceptional analysis and I would want to give examples of how prices have changed drastically over the past 34 years (i.e. from 1978 to 2012).In 1978 I was 25 years old having graduated from the University of Rhodesia.
My father had a shop in Harare township (now Mbare) and kept records (books) invoices and other important documents at his home and I have carried out research on prices of goods and services since 1978.
In that year the nationalists were fighting against the Ian Smith regime. Rhodesia was also under punitive sanctions from Western countries.Here are some of the prices in 1978:A loaf of brown bread 17cA loaf of white bread 19cBottled Coke 7cA bun 2cOne sweet ½c50kg mealie meal which could be delivered by the retailer $3,401kg margarine 45c500grams salt 12c2kg white sugar 60cA kg of meat $1A pint of beer 23cOne egg 5cA litre of parafin 15cA litre of petrol 25c 500ml bottled milk 10cA two-litre opaque beer 20cA cob of maize 5cA fiction novel 75cA good second hand car (Peugeot 504) Z$250A brand new car (Peugeot 504) Z$1 550Buying a beast in rural areas Z$80
SERVICESBus fare (Tafara to City Centre) 2½cBus Fare — Salisbury (Harare) to Umtali (Mutare) Z$1School fees for children in high-density suburbs per term: Z$5School fees for secondary school children in high-density suburbs per term: Z$8Average fees for boarding schools per term Z$90‘O’ Level Cambridge examination fees per subject: Z $6Treatment at a local clinic: 10c Rent for a four-roomed house in the high-density suburbs: Z$6Lodgers normally paid $8 per roomFares paid by an individual to watch a match at Rufaro Stadium 5cFares paid to watch a movie at Mai Musodzi Hall 2c for adults and 1c for children.
It is also interesting to note that by then an average domestic worker working for a European was earning about Z$45 a month. A worker who worked in a retail shop was given about Z$64 a month.
A male black teacher earned a salary of about Z$175. Surely the 1978 prices were realistic and fair.
Tapiwa Makaza, Harare.
