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Mozambique: Cost of living far exceeds minimum wage – OTM
3:13 CAT | 07 May 2019
Photo: O País
Mozambican workers receiving a minimum wage would need an additional 15,000 meticais to buy a basic monthly food basket. The current Organisation of Mozambican Workers (OTM) representative food basket costs about 19,000 meticais, while the minimum wage is only 4,467.75 meticais.
Calculations upon calculations! A real headache for anyone who has to buy what costs close to 20,000 with just over 4,000 meticais.
Balbina Navio, for example, has a family if seven, owns a car and says that she spends an average of 15,000 meticais a month on basic products and services. This is about 4,000 meticais less than the OTM estimated basic for five persons.
To dismiss any lingering doubts, the Workers’ Organisation has drawn up a list of basic products and services which are indispensable for a Mozambican family, which also shows the prices.
The list includes rice, maize meal, butter beans, peanuts, horse mackerel, vegetables, vegetable oil, bread, brown sugar, lighting oil, soap, transportation (two daily trips) and charcoal.
Per person, this costs 5,864 meticais a month, or 19,633 meticais a month for the average Mozambican family of five.
As you can see, it would be necessary for each of the five family members to be earning the minimum wage to cover the household expenses.
By Afonso Chavo
Source: O País
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