Chapter 1

1. Historical development of the Central Statistical Office

The Central statistical office was established in 1894 when the British South African
Company (BSAC) first established a record and statistical department The department
was under the control of !ebert !ar"ey upon its establishment !erbet then died in
#atopos area$ and the Ci"il Commissioner based in !arare (the then Salisbury) too% o"er
his functions The first censuses were carried out in 189& in Bulawayo for which the
#inin' and ci"il commissioners supplied estimates of the minin' and urban population
respecti"ely (n 189)$ another census was conducted throu'h the office of the actin'
ma'istrate
By 19*4 a "ariety of independent sections was set up to en'a'e in the collection of
statistics A recommendation was made that 'reater efficiency would be achie"ed if these
duties were centrali+ed in a department under ,ualified statisticians A monetary
pro"ision was made$ upon recommendations for the establishment of a Statistical Bureau
under the #inistry of !ome Affairs The Bureau was tas%ed with
Carryin' out any census
Collectin'$ compilin' and analysis of statistical information for the
commercial$ industrial$ a'ricultural$ minin'$ social spheres of the economy
Collaboratin' with -o"ernment in collection$ compilin'$ coordinatin'$
analysis and publication of statistical records of administration
(n 19./$ the office came under the #inistry of economic Affairs and subse,uently
chan'ed its name to Central Statistical 0ffice (CS0) (n 1981 it was transferred to the
#inistry of 1inance and 2conomic 3e"elopment 1ollowin' the splittin' of the #inistry
in April *//&$ the department was transferred to the #inistry of 2conomic 3e"elopment
!owe"er$ the or'ani+ation operates under the #inistry of 1inance effecti"e from 0ctober
*//.The 3epartment is under the control of a 3irector appointed by the #inister The
director reports to the #inister throu'h the principal 3irector in the #inistry The
3irector is the Chief 24ecuti"e 0fficer of the department so he is tas%ed with the day to
day runnin' of the a'ency The operations of the department are 'o"erned by the census
and statistics act The CS0 is yet set for another transformation as it is about to assume a
semi5autonomous status (t will be renamed 6imbabwe Bureau of Statistics (6(#STAT)
and the powers of the 3irector will be increased while those of the #inister will be
whittled down
The draft bill$ which will brin' 6(#STAT into bein'$ is under Cabinet consideration (t is
e4pected that the status will be 'ranted in *//) This is to ensure efficiency and
accountability
1.2 Statutory information
The 3epartment is a public office as it is wholly owned by the -o"ernment of 6imbabwe
and its operations are 'o"erned by the pro"isions of the Census and Statistics Act
(Chapter 1/7/&) as amended by Act ** of *//1 effect ** September *//* The Act
pro"ides for the office of the 3irector of Census and Statistics appointed by the #inister
of 2conomic 3e"elopment or any #inister the 8resident may assi'n to administer the Act
from time to time The 3irector is responsible for appointments of other staff members
and the day to day administration of the 3epartment !e submits a report to the #inister
after the 9/
th
of :une each year detailin' the operations underta%en in the precedin' year
(t is a criminal offence under the Act to disclose information to outsiders without the
necessary authority from the 3irector (n some cases$ the 3irector cannot without the
appro"al of the #inister$ disclose any information to those outside the 3epartment The
pro"isions of the Act are mainly there to enforce a hi'h le"el of confidentiality and
pri"acy as statistical information is a "aluable asset especially for in"estors and plannin'
a'encies of both the public and pri"ate sectors
1.3 Vision
To be the leadin' world class producer of national statistics
1.4 Mission Statement
To contribute to national de"elopment throu'h the production and dissemination of
timely and accurate national statistics that facilitate7
8olicy formulation
8lannin' and decision ma%in'
2"aluation and research
Transparency and 'ood 'o"ernance
This will be achie"ed usin' automated technolo'y with hi'hly s%illed and moti"ated
staff
1.5 Core values
(n pursuit of the mission$ the office holders shall be respectful$ courteous$ open$
transparent and responsi"e to both users and suppliers of data This will ensure hi'h le"el
of confidentiality of information in producin' a hi'h ,uality statistical ser"ice with
professionalism and inte'rity
1. Shareholders
(t is wholly owned by the 'o"ernment of 6imbabwe on behalf of all citi+ens
Chapter 2
2.1 !he principal services and characteristics
!a"in' a pool of hi'hly educated tas% force$ coupled with a comprehensi"e data base and
a wide ran'e of ad"anced technolo'y$ Central Statistical 0ffice has a wide ran'e of
ser"ices to boast of Below are some of the ser"ices offered by CS0 and their
characteristics

"isseminatin# official statistics
Central Statistical 0ffice is responsible for the production and dissemination of timely
and accurate national statistics such as inflation fi'ures and po"erty datum lines
Sta%eholders also obtain statistics such as -38 statistics$ !ealth statistics$ ;abor
statistics$ A'riculture statistics and Crime statistics amon' other ser"ices
Carryin# out surveys
The Central Statistical 0ffice carries out sur"eys for other or'anisationsTa%in' for
e4ample <on -o"ernmental or'ani+ations such as the (nternational #onetary 1und$
=nited <ations$ >orld Ban% and =<(C21 often assi'ns CS0 to carry out sur"eys for
them
"ata capturin# services
Central Statistical 0ffice also offers the ser"ices of data entry to other -o"ernment
departments$ <on -o"ernmental or'anisations and other institutions$ with its pool of
technolo'y and its well e4perienced and hi'hly educated staff
!rainin# services
The or'ani+ation also offers trainin' ser"ices to its members of staff$ parastatals such as
the #eteorolo'ical members of staff$ Tobacco ?esearch or'ani+ations and the Central
'o"ernment CS0 offers trainin' in areas such as mathematics$ statistics$ computin'
science and economics up to diploma le"els
"ata processin# services
The Central Statistical 0ffice has data processin' ser"ices on offer The or'ani+ation
processes data for other institutions since it has a wide ran'e of efficient technolo'y$ a
hi'hly e4perienced and competent staff CS0 can carry out a sur"ey for an or'ani+ation$
enter the resultin' information from the sur"ey into a computer usin' a rele"ant software
pac%a'e and proceed to process the data
$dvisory services
The Central Statistical 0ffice also has ad"isory ser"ices in place usin' its comprehensi"e
data base$ hi'hly educated and e4perienced staffTa%in' for e4ample the 8rices Statistics
Section offer ad"isory ser"ices such as the re"aluin' of money balances$ prices$ salaries
and assets usin' the Consumer 8rice (nde4
Sample desi#n services
The or'ani+ation also offers sample desi'n ser"ices (n this case$ the or'ani+ation helps
other institutions in determinin' the sample si+e and the sample frame for the sur"eys that
they would want to e4ecute
2.2 !he main mar%ets&clients served 'y CSO
Central Statistical 0ffice has many sta%eholders and a wide mar%et for its products
and ser"ices Almost e"eryone in the economy of 6imbabwe is interested in the
operations of CS0
The -o"ernment
1inancial (nstitutions
Business fraternity
<on -o"ernmental 0r'ani+ations
(ndi"iduals
!he (overnment
The 'o"ernment is the ma@or user of official statistics and therefore the main mar%et
ser"ed by CS0The 'o"ernment obtains statistical information from CS0 which it then
uses in plannin' and policy formulation$ throu'h its departments and ministries Ta%in'
for instance$ the 'o"ernment throu'h the ministry of finance uses the C8( which is a
product of CS0$ in determinin' the ta4 brac%et The ministry also ma%es the national
bud'et usin' the C8( (inflation fi'ures)
The 'o"ernment$ throu'h the ?eser"e ban%$ also ma%es and announces the monetary
policy and the fiscal policy with the aid of the C8(The monetary authorities set the
interest rates and the e4chan'e rates by use of C8(-o"ernment also 'et health statistics$
employment statistics$ -38 statistics$ criminal statistics etc from CS0 to use in macro
economic policy formulation
!he )inancial institutions
24amples of financial institutions are commercial ban%s$ merchant ban%s$ buildin'
societies$ and discount houses The financial institutions obtain statistical information of
"ital use from CS0$ in particular the C8( to determine the interest rates and the e4chan'e
rates (n principle the e4chan'e rate between two currencies should e,ual the inflation
rate (n"estors use the C8( as a benchmar% on what they should e4pect on their portfolios
They also use the C8( to allocate funds to those assets that beat inflation so as to preser"e
their wealth
5
!he 'usiness fraternity
The business or'ani+ations in form of pri"ate and public companies all use statistical
information pro"ided by the CS0 to ad@ust prices for their products and also to ad@ust
wa'es and salaries for their employees Companies also "alue their assets usin' the C8(
(n most cases assets ha"e to be ad@usted in line with the inflation trends so as to at least
maintain the purchasin' power
!he *on (overnmental Or#ani+ations ,*(Os-
The international or'ani+ations and the <-0s such as the (nternational monetary
fund((#1)$ =<(C21$=nited <ations(=<) and the >orld ban%(>B) etc$ also ser"es as
mar%ets for products from the CS0>e find that these international boards obtains "ital
statistical data from CS0 which they use in assessin' thin's li%e standards of li"in' for
countries and also comparisons between countries They 'et -38 statistics from CS0
which determines if the economy is 'rowin' or not and also 'i"es income per head
Statistics would then help these boards to the areas in need of aid
!he .ndividuals
The people also needs products pro"ided by CS0$ meanin' that they are one of the main
sta%eholders of CS0>e find that people are %een to %now the inflation rate and the
8o"erty lines for "arious reasons 8eople would want to %now health statistics$ for
e4ample the number of people dyin' of !(ABA(3S on a wee%ly or monthly basis$
etc8eople would also want to %now the crime rate$ the rate of unemployment$ -38
statistics and many other statistics
2.3.1 !he industry in /hich CSO operates.
The CS0 operates in the ser"ice industry and has the responsibility of carryin' out
sur"eys$ measurin'$ communicatin' and timeously disseminatin' information
nationwide This is a "ery e4pensi"e business for indi"iduals and small companies to
"enture Therefore$ the 6imbabwean -o"ernment finances acti"ities within the CS0
!owe"er$ process is underway to transform the CS0 into a semi5autonomous
or'ani+ation$ that is$ half owned by the -o"ernment and half by the public
3espite hu'e cash outflows encountered in producin' all sorts of statistics$ the CS0 is
none profit ma%in' but is there to pro"ide information to the public and businesses so as
to ensure consistence in policy formulation$ plannin'$ bud'etin'$ pricin' and "aluin'
assets
0perations at CS0 are based on the belief that one can only mana'e that he can ,uantify
Thus$ CS0 is there to ensure that public and pri"ate businesses are mana'ed properly so
as to achie"e economic 'rowth and the so needed hi'h standard of li"in'
3ata is obtained throu'h sur"eys carried out from the countryCs ten pro"inces Sur"eyin'
is the process of collectin' data$ which re,uires 'ood public relations and ideal
,uestionnaires Since sur"eyin' is "ery e4pensi"e$ not e"ery outlet is sur"eyed but a
sample (part of the population) of which must represent the total population Therefore$
the industry re,uires s%illed personal to determine a sample that represents the total
population
2.3.2 !he principal products or services.
These are the outputs of Central Statistical 0ffice$ and these come mainly in the form of
official statistics$ s%illed manpower$ di'itali+ed maps$ consultancy ser"ices and the
sample frames or business re'isters !owe"er official statistics "ary with each and e"ery
department and section$ so (Cm 'oin' to e4plain official statistics in accordance with
departments

2.3.2.1 !he principal products from the 0rices Statistics Section

This section is responsible for the calculation of indices that measure chan'es in cost for
consumers$ producers$ contractors and others The ma@or publications from this section
are the consumer price inde4$ producer price inde4$ po"erty datum lines$ ci"il
en'ineerin' price inde4 and the buildin' materials price inde4 The section also conducts
the (nternational Comparison 8ro'rammed on behalf of the 6imbabwean -o"ernment
The section has the responsibility of collectin' data$ editin'$ analysis and computin' the
indices accordin'ly The section also carries the responsibility to 'i"e e4planations about
the computation and the use of any of the abo"e5mentioned indices to any interested
party (n 'eneral$ the indices are positi"ely correlated since they all measure chan'es in
cost of 'oods and ser"ices
2.3.2.2 !he Consumer 0rice .nde1 ,C0.-
The Consumer 8rice (nde4 is considered the most widely measure of inflation which is
the rate at which the purchasin' power of consumers is fallin' ie increase in prices The
consumer price inde4 (often referred to as the all items inde4) measure how much
more e4pensi"e or cheaper is it to consume the same amount of 'oods and ser"ices as
were consumed in year *//1 by an a"era'e household
(t is thus re'arded as an effecti"e indicator of fiscal and monetary policies pursued The
C8( consists of a bas%et of 'oods trac%ed from month to month and currently has 4*8
'oods and ser"ices which are mainly bou'ht by consumers for final consumption The
result of the calculations is an a"era'e at which the rate of 'oods and ser"ices will be
'oin' up The collection points are widely distributed (in both the rural and urban areas)
o"er the country to e"en out price fluctuations in pro"inces The current bas%et was
adopted in :une *//& as a response to chan'es in consumption patterns usin' wei'hts
constructed from the *//1 (ncome$ Consumption and 24penditure Sur"ey ((C2S)
!owe"er the main disad"anta'es of the Consumer 8rice (nde4 (C8() are that it assumes
no chan'e in consumption patterns as the le"el of income chan'es in the short to medium
term The assumption is that consumers will continue to buy the product at the inflated
prices but this only holds in stable economies and not hyperinflationary en"ironments
li%e the one pre"ailin' in 6imbabwe (t does not ta%e co'ni+ance of e4istence of
substitutes out of the product class which consumers can easily switch to (t may also ta%e
a lon' time for a new product to be captured in the C8( despite it ha"in' an impact on the
consumersC spendin' patterns
The 6imbabwe C8( is calculated usin' the modified ;aspeyeres formula which allows for
wei'hts to be assi'ned and chan'ed to each product as the base year chan'es (t is
dynamic rather than static when it comes to alteration of wei'hts The method also drops
the wei'hts of products which would ha"e not been recorded in the particular month so
that the o"erall inde4 is not affected The products ha"e been put into two ma@or
sub'roups namely food and non-alcoholic beverages and non-food items The wei'hts
are 919 D and .81 D respecti"ely To 'et the contribution of each 'roup towards o"erall
inflation$ the particular 'roup inflation rate is multiplied by its wei'ht The hea"ier the
wei'ht$ the more the impact on the o"erall rate and "ice "ersa
The process be'ins with data collection from all the recommended outlets in the
countryCs ten pro"inces The recordin' is done by trained enumerators under the
leadership of their team leaders who 'enerally 'i"e directions as to what should be done
The sur"eys are done simultaneously with that for (C8 8rices are recorded on a special
,uestionnaire desi'ned for each product and outlet which specifies the product and outlet
types but 'i"es the enumerator the leeway to choose the brand and ,uantity The product
is referred to by a code so is the outlet and locality from which the data collection too%
place =sually the sur"ey falls in the wee% fallin' mid5month and this e4plains why some
price chan'es may not be captured and impact on the o"erall inflation fi'ures for the
particular month
After the collection process$ the super"isor has to "erify that what has been recorded
ma%es sense and thereafter$ the files are sent to the !ead,uarters where capturin' ta%es
place 2ach pro"ince has its own database meanin' data entry is on a pro"ince by
pro"ince basis ?ecords from different pro"inces do not appear in the same file to allow
for easy of reference should a ,uery arise in the future 3ata entry is done usin' CS8ro
*4 and the system is secure as it always prompts the user for identification to 'ain access
and ma%e corrections This ensures that nobody can alter the records in the database
without authority 2ach pro"inceCs database has a statistical cler% who has the o"erall
responsibility o"er it
After the data entry process$ the records are sent to a pro'rammer in a sin'le folder who
is responsible for runnin' the data usin' Strata The Strata brin's all the products with
one code to'ether on both pro"incial and national basis As the products are 'rouped
to'ether$ the Strata calculate indices for each product a'ainst the price relati"e which is
the base year price (ndices are calculated usin' current and base year prices The same
procedure of calculatin' indices is also done for the sub'roups and for all the items
collected The fi'ures obtained after the first runs are only pro"isional as there mi'ht
ha"e some data entry errors
2.3.2.3 21ample3 .nde1 computation
Product
p
/
p
1
1
1
]
1

p
p
/
1
Weight (
w
/
)
Index=
w
p
p
/
/
1
E
Bread 1500 2400 1.60 4.04 6.47
Sugar 1000 1350 1.35 5.20 7.02
Alcoholic Beverages 600 800 1.33 6.47 8.62
Transport and
o!!unication 5000 6500 1.30 13.86 18.01
"i#uid and $as %uels 2000 2500 1.25 12.70 15.88
&urchase o% !otor
vehicles 20000 3500 0.18 57.74 10.10
All Items Index 66.10
To 'uard a'ainst errors from affectin' the whole process$ a price list for each pro"ince is
printed (t shows the product code$ outlet code$ current inde4$ and the percenta'e price
chan'e from the pre"ious month The percenta'e price chan'e is usually used to chec%
for errors Statistical cler%s 'o throu'h editin' notin' down suspect price chan'es and
"erifyin' usin' the official file (f the mista%e is thou'ht to ha"e emanated from the
recordin' e4ercise$ the enumerator and super"isor concerned are conducted to "erify with
the outlet from which the price was recorded This is meant to minimi+e the amount of
errors that could lead to distortions in the final fi'ures
(n the e"ent that errors are detected$ corrections are done in the ori'inal file Thereafter
the files are sent bac% to the pro'rammer who conducts a second run The cler%s will then
conduct a final error chec%in' in case some errors mi'ht ha"e escaped unnoticed in the
first sta'e and if no errors are detected$ the indices are copied to an 24cel file from where
the ma@or calculations will ta%e place 1ormulae are assi'ned in the sheet to calculate the
inflation rates for the different sub'roups and the all items inde4 on a monthly and annual
basis The ad"anta'e of usin' the 24cel wor%sheet is that it is user friendly and also it has
been able to create a database of indices and inflation rates for a lon'er period
2.3.2.4 4elationship 'et/een month5on5month and year5on5year inflation rates
The month on month inflation fi'ures from the pre"ious year are an important instrument
in forecastin' the annual inflation in the immediate ne4t period Ta%in' for e4ample the
monthly inflation rate of April *//& which was )4D and the #arch *//. annual fi'ure
which stood at 919.DF for the April *//. annual fi'ure to 'o beyond 919. (the #arch
*//. rate)$ the month on month for April *//. has to be o"er the month5on5month rate
for the same month in the pre"ious year which was )4D (f the month5on5month for
April *//. does not chan'e from the April *//& fi'ure$ then the annual rate for April
*//. fi'ure will not 'o up (t remains static at the pre"ious month rate which in this case
will be 919. D and any drop on the month5on5month from the pre"ious period$ the
annuali+ed fi'ure will 'o down This pro"ides a 'ood pointer as to which direction the
annual rate will ta%e Annual inflation is also e,ual to the compounded monthly rates so it
becomes easier to ma%e forecasts of annual inflation when more than half monthly
inflation fi'ures ha"e been pro"ided Simulation of monthly rates can be produced with
certainty
1 ) 1 ( ) 1 )( 1 ( inf
) 1* ( $ ) * ( $ ) 1 ( $
+ + +
ir ir ir t m t m t m
lation Annual
where
ir t m t m ) 1* ( ) 1 ( $
G monthly inflation rates for the year under
consideration
$vera#e annual inflation rate and conversion factors
A"era'e annual inflation for the year refers to what would ha"e been the rate if had there
be no "olatility in the mo"in' a"era'es rates recorded At the end of each year$ the
a"era'e inflation for the period under re"iew is calculated usin' the 'eometric mean
approach because it is not sensiti"e to outliers unli%e the arithmetic mean The office uses
the 'eometric mean of the indices recorded and not the actual inflation fi'ures which
were recorded within the period The main ob@ecti"e is to eliminate chances of carryin'
forward errors which mi'ht ha"e 'one unnoticed to inflation fi'ures obtained durin' the
period !owe"er the same annual inflation fi'ure is arri"ed at if the 'eometric mean of
the actual rates obtained is used
2.3.2.5 (raphical illustration of $vera#e annual inflation ,1665 7 2885-
Con"ersion factors are the "alues used to chan'e indices from one base year to the other
to allow for comparability under different wei'ht re'imes 3ue to the chan'es in
spendin' patterns$ the wei'hts are chan'ed usually between fi"e to ten years in stable
economies so that the indices calculated remain a better pro4y of what is pre"ailin' in the
economy !owe"er inflation rates remain the same under different wei'ht re'imes
( )
) 1// (
E
1*
1* * 1

period base in indices of geomean

factor conversion
I I I

>hereF ( )
1*
1* * 1
E
I I I
is the 'eometric mean of the indices recorded in the year to
be the new base
The current con"ersion factor used to con"ert indices to either 199& or *//1 base is
/1*984.** To con"ert indices after *//1 to the 199& base$ the fi'ure concerned is
di"ided by con"ersion factor and to brin' indices before *//1 to the current base$ the
indices are di"ided by the factor
2.3.2. "erivin# /ei#hts from e1penditure data
The wei'hts are mainly deri"ed from the results of the (ncome$ Consumption and
24penditure Sur"ey ((C2S) which usually becomes the base year period The current
wei'hts were deri"ed from the *//1 sur"ey hence the use of *//1 as the base year
Calculation of wei'hts ta%e into account total ,uantity consumed and total e4penditure on
the products !owe"er$ due to una"ailability of ,uantities consumed$ the total
e4penditure on each product is used
21ample
D 1// E
e4p
8r

,
_

enditure Total
product on e Expenditur
weight oduct
Product Expenditure (Z$ m)
Weight () =
D 1// E
e4p
e4p
enditure total
enditure product
Bread
350 4.042
Sugar
450 5.1'6
Alcoholic Beverages
560 6.467
Transport and o!!unication 1200 13.857
"i#uid and $as %uels 1100 12.702
&urchase o% !otor vehicles 5000 57.737
!ot"l #660 100.000
2.3.2.9 :ses of the C0. and inflation rates
a. (t is a measure of inflation as it affects households and thus pro"ides a benchmar% on
what in"estors should e4pect on their portfolios The aim is to allocate funds to those
assets that beat inflation so as preser"e oneCs wealth =nfortunately for 6imbabweans$
most of the le'al in"estments are 'i"in' returns below inflation resultin' in the
wealth of many bein' reduced This also e4plains why most people ha"e turned to
real estate in"estments as such in"estments are able to preser"e wealth Assets ha"e to
beat inflation in order to be considered profitable
'. The C8( is used as an ad@ustment factor for inde4ation of prices$ wa'es and salaries
and "aluation of assets (n most cases assets ha"e to be ad@usted in line with the
inflation trends so as to at least maintain the purchasin' power (n accountin'$
financial statements ha"e to be ad@usted in accordance with inflation which pre"ailed
in the period under re"iew in hyperinflationary en"ironments as the one currently
obtainin' in 6imbabwe (n accordance with the pro"isions of the (AS *9$ accounts in
hyperinflationary en"ironments ha"e to be ad@usted for inflation (t is therefore
important that the CS0 publishes reliable fi'ures which would allow for accountin'
statements to be true
c. The C8( is also used as a deflator of series in nominal terms to deri"e "alues in real
terms (n this re'ard$ it is mainly used for deflatin' -38 fi'ures to come with
constant prices compared to one base year
d. (t is also an important instrument for formulation of monetary and fiscal policies
#onetary authorities set interest rates and e4chan'e rates by use of inflation fi'ures
deri"ed from the C8( (n principle$ the e4chan'e rate between two currencies should
be e,ual to the inflation differential o"er the period 1iscal authorities use it to
determine ta4 brac%ets The purpose of any policy is to create a stable macro
en"ironment so that inflation remains low (n a world of little or no -o"ernment
interference$ the inflation rates should sa"e as a barometer as to what the e4chan'e
rate should be This is in line with the theory of ?elati"e 8urchasin' 8ower 8arity
which states that e4pected inflation differentials between two countries should be
e,ual to the future e4chan'e rate This means that the currency with the hi'her
inflation should depreciate a'ainst the low inflation rate currency 24chan'e rates
should ad@ust accordin' to trends in inflation 3ue to -o"ernment interference
throu'h the ?B6$ the e4chan'e rate is bein' held constant defyin' the basic economic
fundamentals This is another factor which has dri"en inflation due to speculation
throu'h the blac% mar%et where the e4chan'e rate is allowed to depreciate in
accordance with the obtainin' inflation rates #ost de"elopin' countries use a
crawlin' pe' in e4chan'e rate mana'ement and these are arri"ed after factorin' in
inflation mo"ements
2.3.2.; !he 0roducer 0rice .nde1 ,00.-
The 88( is a ,uarterly inde4 that measures chan'es in the cost of production or in other
words is the inflation e4perienced by producers (t measures chan'es in the cost of inputs
or raw materials used in the production process and sometimes ha"e corollary effects to
the Consumer price inde4 This is because producers ha"e the tendency to pass o"er the
burden to the final consumer To calculate the 88($ we find the price relati"e and multiply
it by the pre"ious inde4 which is used as the wei'ht
The 88( is most widely used by producers in ad@ustin' their prices bud'etin' so as to
ensure sustainability and consistence in supply and thus protectin' their reputation
2.3.2.6 0overty "atum <ines ,0"<-
The 8o"erty 3atum ;ine (83;) is defined as the cost of a 'i"en standard of li"in' that
must be attained if a person is deemed not to be poor The 83; can be bro%en into two
parts namely
(a) The 1ood 8o"erty 3atum ;ine (183;)
(b) The Total consumption 8o"erty ;ine (TC8;)
The 183; represents the minimum consumption e4penditure necessary to ensure that
each household member can (if all e4penditures were de"oted to food) consume a
minimum food bas%et representin' *1// %ilo calories This therefore implies that an
indi"idual whose total e4penditure does not e4ceed the food po"erty line is deemed to be
poor The total consumption po"erty line represents the minimum consumption
e4penditure for all the e4penditures (food and non food items) necessary for a family of
fi"e to be deemed not poor The TC8; is always a fi'ure abo"e the 183; since the food
po"erty line constitutes part of the total consumption po"erty line Therefore the two are
positi"ely correlated
2.3.2.18 Civil 2n#ineerin# 0rice .nde1 ,C20.-
The ci"il en'ineerin' price inde4 is a non5wei'hted inde4 that measures chan'es in the
cost of hea"y machinery and hea"y and hea"y machinery parts The machinery included
under this inde4 is specifically those that are used in road construction$ constructin'
buildin's and minin' The C28( is a "ery useful inde4 to contractors to ad@ust their prices
in tandem with chan'es in the cost of machinery or parts The C28( is calculated usin'
the a''re'ate simple inde4
2.3.2.11 =uildin# Material 0rice .nde1 ,=M0.-
This is a ,uarterly produced inde4 (t measures the cost e4perienced in the production of
buildin' materials from one ,uarter to another Sur"eys are carried out from selected
outlets This inde4 is mostly used to "alue e4istin' houses and helps those who are
plannin' to build houses to prepare fle4ible bud'ets and incorporate price chan'e
2.3.2.12 .nternational Comparison 0ro#ramme, .C0-
The (C8 is an international pro'ram bein' carried out in 1&/ countries in all the
continents !owe"er$ not all countries are participatin' in the e4ercise (t is bein'
administered by the =nited <ations and >orld Ban% throu'h "arious continental bodies
for easy coordination The two bodies are also responsible for fundin' the pro@ect$ as
some of the countries do not ha"e the capacity to ban%roll it on their own (n Africa$ the
African 3e"elopment Ban% (A3B) is coordinatin' it and countries ha"e been 'rouped
accordin' to the official lan'ua'es used to allow easy e4chan'e of notes
The pro'ram came into bein' because of the difficulties inherent in inter5country
Comparisons usin' the traditional -ross 3omestic 8roduct (-38) Approach Therefore$
the pro'ramme see%s to enable the calculation of a special type of e4chan'e rate %nown
as the 8urchasin' 8ower 8arity (888) which is based on the comparison of prices and
thus reflectin' the mar%et reality This would also allow economists to compare wealth in
participatin' countries to determine countries where donor funds can be allocated
The main aim is to come up with an a"era'e price from the bas%et of the 'oods and
ser"ices that was constructed after wider consultations with country representati"es
The bas%et is similar across countries in one re'ion and has strict product specifications
to be followed
8rices of products in the bas%et list are collected e"ery month from selected outlets in all
the countryCs ten pro"inces Speciali+ed ,uestionnaires are used to collect data and they
show all the products attributes needed Collected data is captured into the rele"ant
software ready for "alidation The "alidation boo% is used to trac% errors to their ori'inal
pro"incial files from where corrections are made All products with the same code are
'rouped to'ether Typical outliers are indicated and these ha"e to be "erified (n the e"ent
that a wron' unit of measurement was used$ the product code will be hi'hli'hted in red to
draw the attention of the data "erifier The process of "alidation continues until the
records show consistency
All the files from all pro"inces are mer'ed usin' #er'e #acro A which creates a country
data file This contains all the captured records for the whole country The ne4t sta'e is to
run macros on the country data file usin' Semper Aalidation Software 1/ and the results
are deposited in a "alidation boo% The Semper was specifically desi'ned for (C8 data
"alidation (t recalculates price a"era'e for each item entered for the recommended
,uantity The "alidation boo% is used to trac% errors to their ori'inal pro"incial files from
where corrections are made All products with the same code are 'rouped to'ether
Typical outliers are indicated and these ha"e to be "erified (n the e"ent that a wron' unit
of measurement was used$ the product code will be hi'hli'hted in red to draw the
attention of the data "erifier The process of mer'in' and runnin' the Semper continues
until the records show consistency
>hen satisfied that the errors ha"e been eliminated$ the country data file is sent to the
A3B H Statistics 3i"ision where Iuaranta tables are produced to calculate the price
a"era'es and subse,uently the 8urchasin' 8ower 8arity The A3B Statistics di"ision also
produces a time series to find out if product prices are consistent o"er the period 8rice
mo"ements ha"e to be in con'ruent with obtainin' macro economic conditions 1or the
6imbabwean prices$ some ha"e been found to be droppin' o"er the period when inflation
is so ra"a'in' The root problem lies in the enumerators who sometimes do not adhere to
product specifications as detailed on the ,uestionnaires
The country ?epresentati"es meet e"ery ,uarter for refresher courses and strate'ic
plannin' where they also re"iew the pro'ress of the pro'ram and the challen'es bein'
faced alon' the way Currently it is bein' run on a trial basis with the ultimate aim of
ha"in' it as a perennial pro'ram The coordinators from A3B ta%e the opportunity to
e4plain new concepts to attendants
O'>ectives of .C0
To calculate the 8urchasin' 8ower 8arity of the currency combinations in the
bas%et and this shall be used for con"ersion of -38 fi'ures to one currency for
comparison sa%e which is normally the =S 3ollar(=S J) Currently there are
difficulties in comin' up with an e4chan'e rate for two currencies that not are
hea"ily traded (n some cases -o"ernment interference in the forei'n mar%ets also
tends to distort e4chan'e rates which carry forward to -38 con"ersion There are
some deliberate policies in some countries to i'nore the ?elati"e 8urchasin'
8ower 8arity which states that e4chan'e rates ha"e to ad@ust to chan'es in
consumer price indices between countries The (C8 ta%es into account inflation
mo"ements as the same products in its bas%et are the ones used for calculation of
the C8( and inflation
The information produced will be used to calculate and update po"erty datum
lines in each re'ion The e4ercise is bein' used to identify needy areas where
donor funds should be apportioned The 8o"erty 3atum ;ines for each country
will be con"erted into the =S dollar usin' the purchasin' power parity of the (C8
results
To assist in decomposin' the -38 and its sub5a''re'ates as use of multiple
currencies does not assist in ma%in' inter5country comparisons (n this re'ard the
-38 fi'ures of the participatin' countries are con"erted to one currency usin' the
recalculated 888Cs (t becomes easier to directly compare the standards of li"in'
across countries under the different sub5'roups namely food$ be"era'es$ tobacco
and narcotics$ recreation and entertainment ser"ices$ health products$ furniture
and operations$ clothin' and footwear and transport and communication
!owe"er its ma@or wea%ness is that it does not include e4penditure on education and
ac,uisition of assets by industries (-ross Capital 1ormation) which are "ital components
in any country (t is then difficult to compare the results at national le"el (t is only
comparable at household le"el (t is interestin' to note that the =nited <ations and the
re'ional coordinators ha"e noticed this and modalities are underway to include such
Consultants ha"e been hired to help participatin' countries inte'rate such elements
2.3.3 0roducts from the *ational $ccounts Section
This section is responsible for underta%in' sur"eys and calculatin' indices such as
Calculatin' -ross 3omestic 8roduct by industry of ori'in namely a'riculture$
1inance and (nsurance$ 2ducation$ Ci"il 2n'ineerin'$ #inin' and Iuarryin'$
2lectricity and >ater$ !ealth and others
Calculatin' -ross 1i4ed Capital 1ormation H this see%s to assess the chan'e in the
fi4ed assets in the economy from the pre"ious period ?e"aluations are also
included in the calculations
Conductin' (ncome$ Consumption and e4penditure Sur"eys
Compilation of the Central -o"ernmentCs transactions
2.3.3.1 (ross "omestic 0roduct ,("0-
The -38 is a measure of the total domestic economic acti"ity (production of 'oods and
ser"ices) in a period$ which is normally one year to allow for comparisons (t is the sum
of all income earned by the production of 'oods and ser"ices on the 6imbabwe economic
territory$ where"er the earner of income may reside and is a "aluable economic
barometer -38 is e,ui"alent to the "alue added to the economy by this acti"ity Aalue
added can be defined as income less intermediate costs <ominal -38 'rowth reflects
both chan'es in the economy and price chan'es (inflation) o"er the accountin' period
The -38 is calculated at both the mar%et and constant prices in order to eliminate the
impact of inflation
(ross )i1ed Capital )ormation ,()C)-
(t is the total "alue of a producerCs ac,uisitions less depreciation and disposals of
fi4ed assets within an accountin' period plus certain additions to the "alue of non5
produced assets reali+ed by the producti"e acti"ity of institutional units (t simply
measures the chan'es in "alue of fi4ed assets inclusi"e of re"aluations
Chan#e in Stoc%s
(t is e,ual to the "alue of stoc%s ac,uired less the "alue of in"entories disposed of
durin' the year Chan'es in in"entory relate to finished 'oods$ wor% in pro'ress as
well as materials ac,uired for production of 'oods and ser"ices
The -ross Capital 1ormation 'i"es an indicator as to which direction the economy is
headed$ as its components are the mainstay of the economic acti"ities (n a 'rowin'
economy$ it has to show an upward trend and in times of recession it usually 'oes down
or the rate of 'rowth is stifled (n the 6imbabwe case$ it is declinin' in real terms due to
company closures$ problems faced in sourcin' wor%in' capital and fi4ed assets and the
capital fli'ht as some forei'n in"estors are relocatin' to other countries (n de"elopin'
countries$ policies are drafted to stimulate its upward 'rowth by ma%in' cheap funds
a"ailable to impro"e the infrastructure
2.3.4.1 0roducts from the )inance Section
The finance Section is responsible for compilin' all finance statistics ran'in' from
interest rates$ e4chan'e rates$ ;ocal and Central 'o"ernment e4penditures @ust to mention
a few 1inance Statistics are a''re'ates that try to measure and ,uantify monetary flows
(income and e4penditure) and stoc%s such as assets and liabilities in the economy The
monetary flows are measured o"er the period of time$ for e4ample$ a year while stoc%s
are 'i"en at a point in time 1inancial statistics are essential for plannin'$ monitorin'$
e"aluation and control The 1inance Section collects processes analyses and disseminates
data on financial statistics co"erin' issues from "arious sectors of the economy namely7
1inancial (nstitutions
;ocal -o"ernment
Iuoted Companies
8arastatals
<on 8rofit #a%in' 0r'anisations
Central -o"ernment
2.3.4.2 =an%in# Statistics
a- (n order to compile the 8roduction Account$ 0utlay Account and the Capital
Accumulation Account$ the section send <ational (ncome Iuestionnaires to all ban%s$
that is$ all Commercial Ban%s$ Acceptin' !ouses$ 3iscount !ouses$ Buildin' Societies$
1inance !ouses re,uestin' the details of their (ncome and 24penditure and their Capital
Account This information is also re,uested so as to facilitate the production of the 1low
of 1unds and the -1C1
>hen Iuestionnaires are returned CS0 will a''re'ate the (ncome and 24penditure of
indi"idual ban%s into their respecti"e sectors After this they are then a''re'ated a'ain so
as to determine the (ncome and 24penditure of the entire Ban%in' Sector The <ational
Accounts Section will also use these fi'ures when they compile -38 and other
a''re'ates
'- The Section also obtains data that is used to compile the Statistics 3i'est from the
?eser"e Ban% of 6imbabweCs #onthly ?e"iew The information that we obtain from the
?B6Cs #onthly ?e"iews is on7
Assets and ;iabilities of Commercial Ban%s
3emand 3eposits of Commercial Ban%s cate'orised by Sector and by type of
0r'anisation
Ad"ances of Commercial Ban%s cate'orised by Sector and by type of
0r'anisation
Assets and liabilities of Acceptin' !ouses
Assets and liabilities of Buildin' Societies
Assets and liabilities of 0ther Ban%in' (nstitutions
Assets and ;iabilities of the 80SB
Assets and ;iabilities of 1inance !ouses
#oney Supply
(nterest rates and so on
.nterest 4ates? 21chan#e 4ates and Money Supply Statistics
This information is also obtained in the #onthly ?e"iew of the ?B6 >hat CS0 does
@ust is to %eep a soft copy the fi'ures so that we stay with the statistics of those a''re'ates
but CS0 does not determine them in their settin'
Below is an e4ample of 24chan'e ?ates for *//4 and the first half of *//& that CS0
compiles and %eepin' the Statistics copy
Foreign Exchange Rates : Zimbabwe Dollars per unit of foreign currency
Americ" $ritish % A&ric" Euro'cur ("p"n %) *"nd
2004(an 3518.1'00 6381.8200 4'7.'700 435'.2100 33.1'00 27'0.1100
)e* 4138.2000 7652.7700 621.2800 5131.5700 37.8700 324'.'800
+ar 4381.8800 8033.0800 6'3.8800 5361.2300 42.0200 3438.'300
Apr 5271.753' '351.3000 765.6'00 6306.3400 48.3600 4082.8300
+a, 5330.2400 '786.8500 820.6700 6503.6'00 48.6800 4257.5500
(un 5345.8277 '777.'786 830.5605 64'0.4150 48.835' 426'.4450
(ul 5367.7700 '751.0'00 856.0'00 6464.4100 48.0200 41'4.0600
Aug 5610.4500 10101.1210 857.8527 6764.3530 50.3610 43'6.'485
Sep 5614.0368 10065.1231 85'.6513 6862.550' 51.08'5 4443.3286
-ct 5617.3452 10148.1214 87'.'038 7015.0238 51.56'5 4546.3547
.ov 5638.8722 10473.7663 '32.1886 7317.2104 53.6218 4807.'386
/ec 56'6.0257 10''0.1176 ''3.44'0 762'.47'5 54.6252 4'72.3257
2005(an 5807.4571 10'15.'580 '73.2285 7324.0714 56.23'0 4'04.3471
)e* 602'.35'5 11376.2250 1003.''40 784'.7775 57.47'5 5062.7625
+ar 6067.8536 11580.5752 1011.5710 8018.1'26 57.7315 5176.7657
Apr 60'6.7673 11558.3568 ''1.1157 78'5.1542 56.7636 5102.8526
+a, 6674.'525 12375.8700 1052.8650 788'.3823 62.51'5 5474.'440
(un '710.3382 17666.4482 143'.26'1 11813.6450 8'.3882 7677.8514
2.3.5 !he suppliers of the main inputs
The main inputs to the production of products or ser"ices at CS0 are primary and
secondary data$ financial resources$ material resources$ human resources and le'islation
The suppliers of primary data and secondary data depend on the sur"ey bein' carried out
and the indices aimed to be produced Below is a list of the main suppliers of the main
inputs7
The suppliers of main inputs
The -o"ernment
<on -o"ernmental 0r'anisations
!ouseholds
?etail outlets
>holesalers
8risons and police offices
!ospitals and clinics
2ducation institutes
Ban%s and other financial institutions
!he (overnment
The -o"ernment is the ma@or supplier of the financial resources to the Central Statistical
0ffice 1unds re,uired by CS0 for data collection$ data processin'$ and dissemination of
0fficial statistics are pro"ided for by the -o"ernment in the <ational Bud'et 1inancial
resources would then be accessed by the or'ani+ation throu'h the #inistry of 1inance
which CS0 operates in The -o"ernment also pro"ides material resources needed by
CS0 >e find that the -o"ernment also supplies material resources such as "ehicles$
computers$ printers$ furniture amon' others
*on (overnmental Or#anisation
The <-0s pro"ide donor funds and material resources to finance the operations of
Central Statistical 0ffice The funds are deposited into the treasury so that CS0 will
access them throu'h the ministry in which it would be housed at that time
Households
!ouseholds are one of the ma@or suppliers of inputs in the form of information to CS0
They supply information dependin' on the sur"ey at hand and the ,uestionnaire bein'
administered Ta%in' for instance when CS0 is carryin' out a Census sur"ey$ households
supply information on the number of people dwellin' in a housin' unit >hen CS0
conducts an A'riculture and ;i"estoc% sur"ey !ouseholds 'i"e information on the
number of li"estoc% they ha"e$ the inputs they put on their land and the output they yield
per hectare of land

4etail outlet
Selected retail outlets supply information on prices of 'oods and ser"ices in the consumer
bas%et Some of the supermar%ets selected in !arare are T#$ 0K$ etc The other outlets
include newspaper companies$ insurance companies$ etc The prices information enables
CS0 to compute the Consumer 8rice (nde4 ((nflation rate) and the 8o"erty 3atum ;ines
@holesales
>holesales also supply information to CS0 in the form of prices of commodities 0utlets
on the sample include :a''ers$ #ohamed #ussa and ?ed Star wholesalers The prices
'i"en by wholesalers enable computation of C8( and 83;
0risons
The prisons supplies CS0 with fi'ures on the number of prisoners in prisons$ the number
of "arious crimes committed in different parts of the country each day$ in a wee% or in a
month These fi'ures enables CS0 to calculate the number of cases committed for
e4ample $ how many people are committin' suicide$ how many people are committin'
suicide or homicide etc to come up with prison and crime statistics
Hospitals and clinics
!ospitals and clinics supply CS0 with important information which when compiled leads
to health statistics which shows "ital information li%e the rate at which people are
contractin' !(ABA(3S e"ery month$ the number of people dyin' of !(ABA(3S e"ery
month and the infant mortality rate etc
2ducation institutes
Schools and colle'es supply CS0 with information on the fi'ures of school fees they
would be char'in' per pupil and these are used in the calculation of C8( and 83;
=an%s and other financial institutions
#erchant ban%s$ Commercial ban%s$ buildin' societies and discount houses supply "ital
primary and secondary data which is of 'reat importance in the production of finance
statistics #ost of the information is obtained from the published end of year accounts
and the ?B6C monthly re"iews which shows Assets and ;iabilities of commercial ban%s
and demand deposits of commercial ban%s etc (nformation would be on (ncome and
24penditure (8rofit and ;oss) and the Capital Account (Balance sheet)The information is
also "ital in production of -ross 1i4ed Capital 1ormation which is a main element in the
production of -38 fi'ures
2.3. Main sources of competition and the companyAs position in rivalry
The Central Statistical 0ffice as a non profit ma%in' or'anisation which re,uires a "ast
capital outlay initially in its formation and in its day to day operations$ it faces little
competition from other or'anisations CS0 is second to non in the pro"ision of official
statistics
!owe"er there are some or'ani+ations which carry out sur"eys and produce products or
statistics similar to that of CS0 0r'ani+ations such as The Consumer Council of
6imbabwe (CC6) conduct sur"eys to produce a measure similar to the 8o"erty 3atum
;ine produced by CS0 The difference lies in the nature$ items and content of the
consumer bas%et The CC6 li%e CS0 produces its 83; on a monthly basis
The other sources of competition stems from the other 'o"ernment ministries which
produces statistics of their acti"ities Ta%in' for e4ample$ the #inistry of health produces
some health statistics$ while in another e4ample the #inistry of Trade produces statistics
on tradin' acti"ities of the country >e also ha"e or'ani+ations li%e the 6imtrade which is
in the business of trade$ producin' statistics at the end of a certain period CS0 on the
other hand would be producin' such statistics
The Central ban% on the other hand produces ban%in' and finance statistics @ust li%e
CS0 So as a result we can see that the or'ani+ation e4periences some competition
thou'h not "ery stiff one$ maintainin' the first position in the ri"alry
2.3.9 .mpact of the chan#in# environment? social attitudes? the economy
and #overnment policies upon3
a- the mar%et served
There is a mutual relationship between Central Statistical and the mar%et that it ser"es
The society lar'ely depends on CS0 for the satisfaction of its needs$ such as products and
ser"icesF con"ersely$ CS0 depends on its en"ironment for such resources as raw
materials (in the form of data) and the mar%et for its products in the form of statistical
information$ and indices
The mar%et ser"ed by CS0 consists of institutions such as the -o"ernment and its
departments$ the ?eser"e ban% of 6imbabwe$ the business fraternity$ the <-0s$ the
financial institutions and academic institutions
2ffects of the technolo#ical environment upon the mar%et
Chan'es in the en"ironment is 'enerally a manifestation of technolo'ical inno"ation or
the process throu'h which manCs capabilities are enlar'ed Technolo'ical inno"ation
ori'inates in research and de"elopment by business and the 'o"ernment$ and it results not
only in new machinery or products but also in new processes$ methods and e"en
approaches to mana'ement that brin's about chan'e in the en"ironment
'- 2ffects of technolo#ical innovation upon CSO
The most outstandin' characteristic of technolo'ical inno"ation CS0 is that it constantly
accelerates the rate of chan'e Technolo'ical inno"ation at CS0 has led to hi'her
producti"ity of statistical series 3urin' the past few years$ CS0 used to produce official
statistics usin' manual methods usin' calculators and typewriters !owe"er this was not
"ery efficient$ but than%s to technolo'ical inno"ation$ the or'ani+ation can now use
efficient technolo'y$ in the form of computers$ printer etc$ in the production and
dissemination of national statistics
#oreo"er$ ad"ancement in technolo'y led to the creation of comple4ity that is comple4
products can now be produced usin' comple4 production processes$ which ma%e new
demands on the mana'ement of CS0 >ith better technolo'y CS0 can now present their
products in a better way >ith the aid of hea"y duty printers$ mass production of leaflets
for publication is now possible
The website of CS0 as part of technolo'ical inno"ation has many ad"anta'es >e find
that usin' the website$ CS0 can easily obtain the "iews and commends from the public
and the other 'o"ernment departments from the emails send to the or'anistion "ia the
website These commends helps the mana'ement to impro"e their products or production
processes
(n most cases technolo'ical inno"ation means more pressure upon the mana'ement and
the 'o"ernment to facilitate the adoption of the new technolo'y$ which mi'ht end up
strainin' the resources of the or'ani+ation and the 'o"ernment !owe"er in a country li%e
6imbabwe with limited capital$ mana'ement may ha"e to 'i"e constant attention to the
use of labour intensi"e technolo'y not only to easy the pressure on the demands for
capital but to pro"ide more employment too
Technolo'ical pro'ress therefore affects the business as a whole$ includin' its products$
its life cycle$ its supply of materials$ its production process and e"en its approaches to
mana'ement
2ffects of the economic environment upon CSO.
The economy is influenced by technolo'y$ politics$ social and the international
en"ironment while itself assertin' some influences on these "ariables The most
important interfaces between the economic en"ironment and the business concern the
economic 'rowth rate$ consumer incomes$ inflation$ monetary and fiscal policy$ and the
fluctuations in these "ariables
The operations of CS0 are to a lesser e4tent affected by chan'es in the economic
en"ironment 0f the "ariables of the economic en"ironment we find that it is inflation
which has a si'nificant impact on the operations of CS0

1irstly we find that with a hyper5inflationary en"ironment$ bud'etin' for the or'ani+ation
is difficult 8rices for different items are risin' on daily basis As matter of fact the
or'ani+ation would ha"e to constantly ma%e supplementary bud'ets due to inflation >e
also find that due to inflation bi' sur"eys such as the 8opulation Census and the (ncome$
Consumption and 24penditure Sur"ey would be difficult to conduct >e find the money
which would ha"e been allocated for the sur"eys to be conducted in a period of twel"e
months end up bein' sufficient to cater for three months$ meanin' that the both CS0 and
the #inistry of 1inance would constantly ha"e to ma%e supplementary bud'ets
#oreo"er$ inflation causes a situation of apparent profit$ while the or'anisationCs capital
is bein' eroded all the time (t ma%es cost accountin' and the financin' of credit difficult
!owe"er$ to a lar'er e4tent the operations of CS0 are not affected by most "ariables of
the economic en"ironment since it is a non profit ma%in' or'ani+ation producin' a public
utility Since the or'ani+ation is non profit ma%in'$ an upswin' or downswin' of the
economy of 6imbabwe will not ha"e a si'nificant impact on the operations of CS0
The mana'ement of CS0 would not ha"e any trouble tryin' to profit by reducin' its
in"entory in 'ood time to %eep the business in a state of li,uidity$ therefore a"oidin' the
hi'h costs of interest$ when e4pectin' a recession
2"en if the economy of 6imbabwe were to e4perience an upswin'$ the mana'ement of
CS0 was not 'oin' to bother itself tryin' to find the ri'ht strate'y that would profit the
business since due to the nature of the products
#oreo"er$ an increase or decrease in the incomes of the consumer would not lead to the
e4pansion or contraction in the demand of the or'anisationCs products$ since it would be
senseless for one to increase the number of C8( copies that heBshe would use because hisB
her income has increased This howe"er is a different situation with other consumer
'oods
!he effects of the economic environment on the mar%et served 'y CSO
The chan'e in the economic "ariables does not ha"e a si'nificant impact upon the mar%et
ser"ed by Central Statistical 0ffice The mar%et does not shrin% or e4pand followin'
fluctuations in the economic "ariables such as inflation$ consumer incomes$ and
economic 'rowth The mar%etCs demand also does not rise or fall in response to the
fluctuations in the ma@or economic "ariables
An upswin' or downswin' of the economy does not ha"e a 'reat impact on the
mar%etBclientsC demand of statistics (n the case of other 'oods$ ta%in' for instance a
normal 'ood$ we e4pect people to increase demand or the ,uantity purchased of a 'ood
durin' the time of an economic boom$ and "ise "ersa !owe"er with statistics$ itCs a
different case 0ne can not e4pect people to increase their purchase of statistics or other
products from CS0 durin' an upswin' of the economy$ and alternati"ely one can not
e4pect people to reduce their purchase of statistics durin' the time of an economic
recession
#oreo"er$ the fluctuation in the incomes of the consumers does not ha"e a si'nificant
effect upon the mar%et ser"ed by CS0 and their demand of the statistical series =nder
normal circumstances we e4pect the demand and purchase of a product to increase with
the rise in incomes of the consumers since they would now be able to buy more >e find
that the mar%et ser"ed by CS0 does not e4pand or shrin% in response to the rise or fall in
the consumer incomes
The rise in the rate of inflation also does not cause the mar%et ser"ed by CS0 to shrin%
althou'h inflation reduces the purchasin' power of the consumers The mar%et ser"ed by
CS0 remains relati"ely the same despite the hi'h inflation rate in 6imbabwe
2ffects of the social environment upon CSO.
The chan'e in the social en"ironment affects the mana'ement of CS0 indirectly throu'h
man as a consumer and an employee that its ultimate effect on the business can not be
underestimated
A social trend that would 'reatly affect mana'ement and the operations of CS0 is the
le"el of education of the population 0n one hand it will influence the le"el of s%ills in
both mana'ers and wor%ersF while on the other hand$ hi'her education will result in new
demands for ,uality statistical series and ad"isory ser"ices
Better education and trainin' will mean a more sophisticated consumer with definite
demands on mana'ement re'ardin' the ,uality of 'oods$ ad"ertisements and wor%in'
conditions
2.3.; !he types of technolo#y used at Central Statistical Office.
;ocal Area <etwor%
>ebsite
8ersonal computers
Software pac%a'es
Scanner
8rinters
1a4 machine
Telephones
8unchers
Staplers
1irstly$ the Central Statistical 0ffice has a ;ocal Area <etwor% (;A<) which lin%s
8ersonal Computers within the or'anisation The ;ocal Area <etwor% is controlled with
two ser"ers runnin' on windows ser"er *//9 operatin' networ% system The >ebsite
ser"er is where the Central Statistical 0ffice website is sittin' on and the ser"er is
runnin' in ;inu4 ;A< enables easy communication across sections and departments
3ocuments$ articles and music can easily be send usin' the ;A<
Secondly CS0 has a website www+imstatac+w and an e5mail which facilitates
communication within the or'anisation and with people outside the or'anisation The
clients are able to access some information about CS0 on the website$ and "iew$
comments and ,ueries can be forwarded to the director "ia the e5 mail The website and
email ser"er is runnin' on ;inu4 red hat
CS0 also has personal computers in all the sections These computers are connected to
the ;ocal Area <etwor% and run on an operatin' system called >indows L8 8rofessional
and #icrosoft 0ffice such as word$ e4cel$ power point and publisher
CS0 also uses "arious software pac%a'es for data entry and data processin' The pac%a'e
differs and "aries across sections Ta%in' for e4ample CS0 uses the Census and Sur"ey
8rocessin' system (CS8ro) for data entry$ editin'$ tabulation and dissemination of data
from census and sur"eys CS8ro combines features of inte'rated micro computer
processin' system ((#8S) and the (nte'rated System for Sur"ey Analysis ((SSA)

There is also the Statistical Analysis System (SAS) which is used for the production of
tables and chec%in' of errors$ in which case the final tables are produced in e4cel format$
for report writin'
The or'ani+ation also has printers in all the sections and departments$ as part of the
technolo'y used in its production process 2ach section prints ,uestionnaires for different
sur"eys$ and also the leaflets$ and boo%s of indices for publication Ta%in' for e4ample$ in
the 8rices Statistics Section$ ,uestionnaires for Consumer price sur"ey (C8S)$ Ci"il
2n'ineerin' 8rice (nde4 (C28()$ Buildin' #aterials 8rice (nde4 (B#8() and
(nternational Comparison 8ro'ramme ((C8)$ amon' others are printed After data
processin'$ the section then prints the leaflets with indices such as the C8( and the 83;
The or'ani+ation also uses the fa4 machine$ to send documents to other or'ani+ations and
also to recei"e documents from other or'ani+ations (t is also used to send documents to
CS0Cs pro"incial offices$ and "ice "ersa The ad"anta'e is that it wor%s fast in sendin'
documents to the desired destinations
The or'ani+ation also uses telephones in its operations CS0 has telephones in e"ery
office to facilitate easy and ,uic% communication across sections and departments
(nstead of one 'oin' to the ne4t office to in,uire about somethin'$ one can sa"e scarce
time by simply pic%in' up the recei"er$ and dialin' the rele"ant number 0ne can also
dele'ate wor% or 'i"e directions as to how a tas% can be e4ecuted usin' the telephone$
instead of himBher wal%in' to that office Since CS0 has pro"incial offices in the ten
pro"inces of 6imbabwe$ telephones ma%e communication with them easier
1urthermore$ CS0 uses staplers to @oin sheets of papers$ such as C8($ and 83; leaflets
to'ether (t also uses punchers in the production process$ especially when one wants to
file ,uestionnaires in a file
Chapter 33 Or#ani+ational Structure
2conomic Statistics
Mr. B.4.*. Shonhi/a
,"eputy "irector)
8opulation and Social Statistics
#r C 8arirenyatwa
(3eputy 3irector)
.ncome $nalysis
Mr. *. !aruvin#a
,$ssistant "irector-
8roduction Statistics
#r ? #pofu
(Assistant 3irector)
(ndustrial Statistics
(Statisticians)
(Cler%s)
)inance
,Statisticians-
,Cler%s-
*ational $ccounts
,Statisticians-
0rices
,Statisticians-
,Cler%s-
!ousehold sur"eys
Aacant
(Assistant) )
3irector)
Administration
!uman ?esources
?e'istry and 1inance
8ri"ate Secretary
3emo'raphy and social
Statistics
#s #un'ate
#s #un'ate
(Assistant "eputy
3irector) Carto'raphy
(Statisticians)
(Cler%s)
2n"ironment !ealth
(Statisticians)
(Cler%s)
Social stats
Census
(Statisticians)
(Cler%s)
A'ricultural
Statistics
(Statisticians)
(Cler%s)
1orei'n Trade
(Statisticians)
(Cler%s)
#appin'
(Statisticians)
(Cler%s)
-ender
(Statisticians)
(Cler%s)
2mployment
(Statisticians)
(Cler%s)
:udicial
(Statisticians)
(Cler%s)
Social indicators
(Statisticians)
(Cler%s)
(#T
(Statisticians)
(Cler%s)
Census
(Statisticians)
(Cler%s
".42C!O4 O) C2*S:S $*" S!$!.CS
M4. M. *CO*. ,$ctin# "irector-
3.2 Summary of Ma>or "epartments
There are two main 3i"isions each with two branches supported by se"eral sections
The two main di"isions are7
3.32conomic Statistics =ranch
The branch is responsible for the compilation of statistical information that relates to
economic acti"ities (acti"ities of the secondary$ primary and tertiary industries) 'oin'
around the country and is under the control of a 3eputy 3irector who reports to the
3irector The di"ision is further split into two branches namely (ncome Analysis and
8roduction Statistics 2ach branch is headed by an Assistant 3irector who acts as an
interface between the sectionsC statisticians and the 3eputy 3irector responsible for the
whole di"ision
Sections under the Economic Statistics branch
3.3.1 0rices Statistics Section
Bey 4esults areas3
Collection$ compilation analysis and interpretation of 8rices statistics
8roduction of monthly reports on the Consumer 8rice Sur"ey for e"ery pro"ince
and the ,uarterly and annual reports on 8o"erty in 6imbabwe
3issemination of 8rices Statistics
8lannin' and coordination of the 8rice Sur"eys
"uties and 4esponsi'ilities3
Compilation of 8rices report
Collectin' data from the section and other sources
3esi'nin' and updatin' of ,uestionnaires
1acilitatin' the printin' of the labels$ ,uestionnaires and 8rices reports
Super"isin' data collection
Codin' and editin' of ,uestionnaires
;iaisin' with pro'rammers in preparin' tabulation plans
8erformin' consistency chec%s on tables
Chec%in' for errors in preliminary reports and writin' of final reports
3isseminatin' information throu'h sendin' reports to 8ublications 0ffice for
sale
Attendin' to phonin' and "isitin' users of 8rices Statistics
Attendin' meetin's$ wor%shops and seminars
>ritin' monthly reports
Bud'etin' for section
1ormation of wor% plans
!erms of 4eference3
Census and Statistics Act
Challen#es3
3ata not bein' recei"ed on time from feedin' sections and non5response
from postal Sur"eys
>or%in' o"er time
;ac% of state of the art computers and printers
;ac% of office furniture and space
;ac% of bi''er store room
3.3.2 )inance Statistics Section
Bey 4esults areas3
Collection$ compilation analysis and interpretation of 1inance statistics
8roduction of reports
3issemination of 1inance Statistics
8lannin' and coordination of the 1inance Sur"eys
"uties and responsi'ilities
Collectin' data from the section and other sources
3esi'nin' and updatin' ,uestionnaires
Compilin' data on interest rates$ e4chan'e rates$ local and central 'o"ernment
e4penditure$ ban%in' statistics and money supply statistics
Codin' and editin' of ,uestionnaires
;iaisin' with pro'rammers in preparin' tabulation plans
8erformin' consistency chec%s on tables
Super"isin' data collection
Attendin' meetin's$ wor%shops and seminars
>ritin' monthly reports
Bud'etin' for the 1inance section
1ormation of wor% plans
3.3.3 *ational $ccounts Statistics Section
"uties and responsi'ilities of the section
Calculatin' -ross 3omestic 8roduct by industry of ori'in namely a'riculture$
1inance and (nsurance$ 2ducation$ Ci"il 2n'ineerin'$ #inin' and Iuarryin'$
2lectricity and >ater$ !ealth and others
Calculatin' -ross 1i4ed Capital 1ormation H this see%s to assess the chan'e in the
fi4ed assets in the economy from the pre"ious period ?e"aluations are also
included in the calculations
Conductin' (ncome$ Consumption and e4penditure Sur"eys
Compilation of the Central -o"ernmentCs transactions
Compilation of <ational Accounts report
Collectin' data from the section and other sources
3esi'nin' and updatin' of ,uestionnaires
1acilitatin' the printin' of the labels$ ,uestionnaires and <ational Accounts
reports
Super"isin' data collection
Codin' and editin' of ,uestionnaires
;iaisin' with pro'rammers in preparin' tabulation plans
8erformin' consistency chec%s on tables
Chec%in' for errors in preliminary reports and writin' of final reports
3isseminatin' information throu'h sendin' reports to 8ublications 0ffice for sale
Attendin' to phonin' and "isitin' users of <ational Accounts Statistics
Attendin' meetin's$ wor%shops and seminars
>ritin' monthly reports
Bud'etin' for section
1ormation of wor% plans
3.3.4 .ncome analysis Statistics Section
"uties and 4esponsi'ilities3
Compilation of (ncome Analysis report
Collectin' data from the section and other sources
3esi'nin' and updatin' of ,uestionnaires
1acilitatin' the printin' of the labels$ ,uestionnaires and (ncome Analysis
reports
Super"isin' data collection
Codin' and editin' of ,uestionnaires
;iaisin' with pro'rammers in preparin' tabulation plans
8erformin' consistency chec%s on tables
Chec%in' for errors in preliminary reports and writin' of final reports
3isseminatin' information throu'h sendin' reports to 8ublications 0ffice for
sale
Attendin' to phonin' and "isitin' users of (ncome Statistics
Attendin' meetin's$ wor%shops and seminars
>ritin' monthly reports
Bud'etin' for (ncome Analysis section
1ormation wor% of plans
3.4 0opulation and Social Statistics
The main tas% of this di"ision is to collect$ compile and analyse statistical information
with re'ards to the social welfare of the population and carryin' out any field sur"eys and
mappin' for the whole 3epartment The di"ision is further split into !ousehold Sur"eys
and Carto'raphy and 3emo'raphy and Social Statistics The 3i"ision compiles statistics
used by "arious or'anisations to determine the social welfare of the different
communities around the country
2.2.9 Sections under the 0opulation and social statistics
i) Social statistics5 collect$ compile$ and disseminate the information on social statistics
ii) 2mployment statistics5 collect$ compile$ and disseminate information on employment
statistics
iii) 2nvironment statistics5 collect$ compile and disseminate the information on
en"ironment statistics
i") (ender statistics5 collects$ compile and disseminate the information on 'ender
statistics
") Health and vital statistics 5 collect$ compile and disseminate the information on
health and "ital statistics
"i) .nternational Mi#ration and !ourism statistics5collect compile and disseminate the
information on international mi'ration and tourism
"ii) Dudicial and social /elfare statistics5collect$ compile and disseminate the
information on @udicial and social welfare
Chapter 4
4.8 !he @or% roles? tas%s and responsi'ilities
#y wor% related learnin' e4perience at CS0 co"ered a lot of wor% roles$ tas%s and
responsibilities (n order for CS0 to come up with economic models and indices$ such as
the C8( and 83;$ "ital for decision ma%in' and policy formulation$ a lot of wor%
acti"ities are in"ol"ed (t is a'ainst this bac%'round that ( am 'oin' to 'i"e a brief
description of my wor% roles$ tas%s and responsibilities of the wor% related learnin'
e4perience at CS0
4.1 Carrying Out Sureys
Any economic model re,uires data that is 'athered by means of sur"eys and other
methods The CS0 uses sur"eys to collect data since sur"eys means first hand
information thus$ accuracy is 'uaranteed$ and thus ( collected prices of medical ser"ices
from #edical Aid Societies$ ban% ser"ice char'es from "arious ban%s$ prices of
newspapers from !erald newspaper companies to facilitate the computation of Consumer
8rice (nde4$ (C8()$ (nternational Comparison 8ro'ramme ((C8) and 8roducer 8rice (nde4
(88() The Consumer 8rice Sur"ey and 8roducer 8rice Sur"ey formed part of my wor%
roles
4. 2!alidating and Data "nalysis
Besides ta%in' sur"eys and data capturin'$ "alidatin'$ editin' and analy+in' data
collected were the most demandin' duties ( carried out After we had conducted the
sur"ey in !arare pro"ince and recei"ed Consumer 8rice Sur"ey (C8S) files from the 1/
pro"inces$ we would send files with ,uestionnaires to the data capturin' department
where data on ,uestionnaires would be fed into the CS8ro 9/ software
Aalidation and editin' in"ol"es chec%in' and rectifyin' problems and errors encountered
by enumerators durin' data collection This is done to maintain consistence in the
accuracy of the data After editin' comes$ analysis often referred to as too low too hi'h
analysis This analysis is done in order to confirm or correct une4pected hi'h drops or
hi'h increases in indi"idual item prices This reduces the pre"alence of outliers and helps
to maintain a true representati"e of the a"era'e chan'e in inflation ;i%e in any
re'ression$ model outliers ha"e the impact of distortin' a"era'es and thus causin'
s%ewness of the data
4. 3Running the #armoni$ed Consumer %rice &ndex
After these processes$ we would then run the !armoni+ed Consumer 8rice (nde4 to come
up with the Consumer 8rice (nde4$ month on month and year on year inflation rates$ as
well as the 8o"erty 3atum ;ine usin' CS 8ro 9/
4. 4Data Capturing
3urin' the second Iuarter of the wor% related learnin' e4perience the wor% roles and
duties also included data entry of (nternational Comparison 8ro'ramme ,uestionnaires
usin' protected #icrosoft e4cel wor%sheets The files that ( captured durin' the second
,uarter of the attachment were that of #ashonaland west pro"ince$ #as"in'o pro"ince
and !arare pro"ince
4. 5'riting Reports
After we had computed the month on month and the year on year inflation rates and 83;
we would then write reports 'oin' to the pro"incial super"isors and the enumerators of
the pro"inces$ commendin' on the files and ,uestionnaires Comments were made on the
completeness and co"era'e of ,uestionnaires$ hi'hli'htin' the errors we had encountered
on the ,uestionnaires and su''estin' ways they could use to resol"e the problems
4. Dissemination of Statistics
( was also entitled to the dissemination of official statistics to the sta%eholders 0ne of the
methods used was 'i"in' C8( and 83; fi'ures o"er the phone ( would also print C8( and
83; leaflets for sale to the users

4. 9 "ttending 'or(shops and Seminars on %rices Statistics
3urin' the wor% related learnin' e4perience ( attended "arious wor%shops on prices
statistics 3urin' the seminars a lot was learnt on updatin' and computation of 8o"erty
3atum ;ines and compilation of the prices statistics reports
Chapter 5
5.1 !he or#anisationAs stren#ths
S%illed&Committed staff
The mandate of Central Statistical 0ffice is to produce official statistics and this
re,uires a hi'hly s%illed tas% force$ which is well "ested in mathematical$ economical
and econometrical concepts At CS0 the statistical cler%s and the statisticians ha"e
3iplomas and de'rees in "arious disciplines such as economics$ statistics and
mathematics CS0 produces world class official statistics with the aid of its s%illed and
committed staff
2sta'lished "ata Collection .nfrastructure
CS0 can boast about an established data collection infrastructure This is so because it
has a master sample for the whole country of 6imbabwe The whole country has been
di"ided into "arious enumeration areas which ma%e it easier for data to be collected
The households section has the maps$ list of all structures and households in 6imbabwe
The maps$ the list of households and the list of names entails that CS0 has an
established data collection infrastructure
.n5service trainin#
Central Statistical 0ffice has the stren'th of an in5house trainin' facility which offers
certificates in disciplines such as statistics$ mathematics$ economics and computin'
science The Trainin' section also trains staff in methods of data collection$ "alidation$
stora'e retrie"al$ display and analysis CS0 trains its wor%ers as well as people from
other 'o"ernment departments to impro"e their wor% performance The in5house
trainin' is also bein' successful in moti"atin' staff to 'reater efficiency by creatin' an
interest in their wor% and the sub@ect matter of statistics$ mathematics$ economics and
computin'

Compliance to international standards
The "ision of Central Statistical 0ffice is to be the leadin' world class producer of
national statistics$ so as a result CS0 adheres to international standards in the pro"ision
of official statistics CS0Cs compliance to international standards are shown in the
methods and formulas that it uses in calculatin' the indices such as the Consumer 8rice
(nde4 and the 8o"erty 3atum ;ines which are the ones recommended by the
(nternational Community and the =nited <ations CS0 sometimes in"ites professional
consultation persons from other leadin' countries in the pro"ision of official statistics$
to train and up'rade the pro'rammes used in the computation of statistics and also to
up'rade the s%ills of the staff$ and thus compliance to international standards
2sta'lished sample frame and 'usiness re#isters
(n its mandate to produce official statistics "ital for policy formulation$ we find that
Central Statistical 0ffice has an established sample frame$ which is a list of all
households$ enterprises$ farms and hospitals in the country CS0 also has established
business re'isters The or'anisation has a list of all re'istered companies and their
addresses$ both physical and postal addresses This enables to carry out sur"eys easily
since all those companies and institutions which would ha"e been selected as part of the
sample would be reached easily for data collection
@ider ran#e of statistical information
Central Statistical 0ffice boasts of a comprehensi"e data base Statistical information
datin' bac% to as early as 189& when the first censuses were conducted is a"ailable at
CS0 >e can also find that CS0 has a wide ran'e of statistical information in that it
produces information such as health statistics$ prison and crime statistics$ employment
statistics$ census statistics$ prices statistics$ ban%in' statistics$ income statistics$ amon'
many others
5.2 !he or#anisationAs /ea%nesses
*o control or decision ma%in# on conditions of service
Central Statistical 0ffice as a 'o"ernment department$ currently operatin' under the
#inistry of 1inance$ has no control or decision ma%in' on the conditions of ser"ice
The or'anisation has no control on the wa'es and salaries of its employees The
or'anisation cannot increase salaries or 'i"e cars to its wor%ers as moti"ation to its
wor%ers or a way of curbin' hi'h staff turno"er Ta%in' for instance$ in some
or'anisations when a %ey wor%er who is "ery important to the or'anisation in terms of
hisBher s%ills$ is attracted and bound to lea"e for another or'anisation that offers of hi'h
salary and a car$ the or'anisation can increase the salary of the %ey wor%er and a'ain
'i"e himBher the car as a way of protectin' himBher from lea"in' the or'anisation The
8ublic Ser"ice Commission and the Central 'o"ernment decide on the conditions of
ser"ice of CS0Cs wor%ers to'ether with other 'o"ernment wor%ers
Mar%etin# strate#y,e.#. product presentation-
Central Statistical 0ffice faces challen'e on the presentation of its products =nli%e
other or'ani+ations$ CS0 does not carry out any promotional acti"ities for its official
statistics CS0 ad"ertises itself @ust before and durin' the times of population censuses
which ta%es place once in e"ery ten years to notify the public As a matter of fact the
or'anisation lac%s a "i'orous mar%etin' strate'y for its products

.nternal communication
At Central Statistical 0ffice there is "ertical communication$ which is communication
between the mana'ement and the @unior staff
<ac% of control over financial resources
CS0 as a 'o"ernment department lac%s control o"er financial resources which it uses in
the day to day runnin' of its operations Since the or'anisation is a 'o"ernment
department$ financial resources for its operations are allocated in the national bud'et by
the minister of finance The funds are then released from the treasury to CS0 throu'h
the rele"ant ministry housin' CS0 at that particular time As a result$ the mana'ement
of CS0 can not always carry out some acti"ities which needs financial resources$
althou'h the acti"ities may be beneficial to the country$ since at times fundin' of
acti"ities depend on the prioriti+ation of the 'o"ernment

!echnolo#ical updates
As a non profit ma%in' or'anisation$ mainly in the pro"ision of a public 'ood$ it is not
"ery easy for CS0 to update its technolo'y Althou'h the 'o"ernment and the <-0Cs
ha"e facilitated and made it possible for CS0 to ha"e better models of computers$
printers and some other machines in almost e"ery department for use in its operations$
CS0 la's behind other countries in terms of technolo'y CS0 does not ha"e scanners to
use in the capturin' of data on ,uestionnaires$ which ma%es it faster for data to be
captured The fa4 machine althou'h it is a"ailable$ it is not easily a"ailable to e"eryone
,uic%ly
<e#islation enforcement
The le'islation that 'o"erns the operations of CS0 is poorly enforced in that it is not
effecti"e enou'h to force e"eryone to 'i"e information or data durin' the sur"eys This
'i"es problems durin' data collection$ leadin' to low response rate$ omission of some
"ital information in data processin'$ users doubtin' the ,uality of data and publications
bein' produced late

!imeliness of some statistical series
At CS0 some publications are bein' produced late due to "arious reasons CS0
sometimes e4perience the problem of timeliness of some statistical series due to lac% of
demand for data leadin' to fewer resources made a"ailable for their production or
,uality control 0n the other hand timeliness of some statistical series is due to poor
moti"ation of the wor%force and la+iness

"isaster recovery plan
The or'anisation has a wea%ness in relation to the disaster reco"ery plan The
or'ani+ation does not update its stora'e of data more often (n the e"ent that there is a
fire outbrea% or some other form of disaster at CS0 some of the data will be lost
EChapter
.1 !he or#anisationAs opportunities
An opportunity may be defined as a fa"orable condition or tendency in the mar%et
en"ironment of an or'anisation which can be fa"orably e4ploited by means of a
deliberate mana'ement effort Below are some of the opportunities that ha"e been
a"ailable to CS0$ and the means that the or'anisation a ha"e used to e4ploit the
opportunities
Consultancy
Central Statistical 0ffice has an opportunity of consultancy (ts staff members are
hi'hly s%illed and e4perienced in the field of mathematics and statistics to the e4tent
that they can act as consultancy in those fields The or'anisation 'reatly utili+es this
opportunity by offerin' this ser"ice to other 'o"ernment$ departments$ companies
indi"iduals and the <-0Cs
(overnment decision on semi5autonomous status&revised le#islation
The or'anisation is also utili+in' the opportunity of 'o"ernment decision on semi5
autonomous status or re"ised le'islation of CS0
!rainin# services
CS0 has trainin' ser"ices at its disposal The main sub@ects offered are statistics$
mathematics$ economics and computin' science The staff members are trained in
methods of data collection$ "alidation$ stora'e retrie"al$ display and analysis The
or'anisation utili+es this opportunity by trainin' staff members upon @oinin' the
or'anisation$ and whene"er need arises
4esult 'ased policy
This is a policy that has been newly introduced by the 'o"ernment on appraisals
>or%ers are now appraised basin' on their results of their tas%s and responsibilities
This is so because a lot of wor% was bein' done but without comin' up with results at
the end of the day As a result$ CS0 as a 'o"ernment department ta%es and utili+es this
opportunity
.nnovation throu#h technolo#ical advancement
CS0 is en@oyin' the opportunity of inno"ation throu'h technolo'ical ad"ancement
Technolo'ical inno"ation ori'inates in research and de"elopment by both CS0 and the
'o"ernmentThis howe"er affects the business as a whole$ includin' its products$ its life
cycle$ and its supply of raw materials$ its production processes and e"en its approach to
mana'ement CS0 is continuously adoptin' new technolo'y$ and this is seen throu'h
the technolo'y that it has and the software pac%a'es that it uses in data entry and data
processin' CS0 has a ;ocal Area <etwor%$ >ebsite$ an email$ personal computers$
di'ital printers$ hea"y duty printers and software pac%a'es such as CS8ro 9/ and the
!armoni+ed Consumer 8rice (nde4
"onor fundin#
The or'anisation also has the opportunity of donor fundin' #any <-0Cs come to CS0
for assistance in carryin' out sur"eys$ for e4ample on children and other "ulnerable
'roups$ or they en'a'e CS0 to carry out the sur"ey since it has an established data
collection infrastructure As a result CS0 benefits in the form of finance$ material
resources such as computers$ printers and e"en "ehicles
0rintin# services
CS0 has the opportunity of printin' ser"ices at its disposal >e find that CS0 has a
print floor$ which is a section that is there to meet all the mass printin' needs of all the
departments and sections under CS0 As a result CS0 uses this opportunity to print
leaflets such as the C8( and 83; and boo%s with reports of statistics such as that of
crime statistics or income statistics for publication
.2!he or#anisationAs threats
A threat may be defined as an unfa"orable condition or tendency in the mar%et
en"ironment of the or'anisation that can$ in the absence of a deliberate effort by
mana'ement$ lead to the failure of the business$ its products or its ser"ices Below are
some of the threats that CS0 has encountered and the ways that the or'anisation has
adopted to deal with the threats
<imited 'ud#etary allocation&control
Sometimes the or'anisation faces the threat of a limited bud'etary allocation from the
#inistry of 1inance This means the re would not be enou'h money to finance sur"eys
To sol"e a situation li%e this CS0 had to as% for a supplementary bud'et allocation
from the ministry$ or the or'anisation had to @ustify itself to the 'o"ernment in order to
'et some more money !owe"er$ at times the or'anisation and the 'o"ernment would
loo% for the users of the final product from the sur"eys$ and these mostly would sponsor
the sur"eys Ta%in' for e4ample <-0Cs such as the >orld Band (>B)$ African
3e"elopment Ban% (A38)$ =nited <ations 3e"elopment 8ro'ramme$ ha"e sponsored
many sur"eys carried out by CS0 with financial resources and material resources

Competition
The e4istence of competition is one other threat that has been faced by CS0 Althou'h
CS0 is the leadin' producer of official$ national statistics adherin' to international
standards$ we find that it faces competition from other or'anisations which produces
statistics Ta%in' for e4ample$ an or'ani+ation li%e the Consumer Council of 6imbabwe
(CC(6) produces 8o"erty ;ines on a monthly basis li%e CS0$ althou'h the consumer
bas%ets are different CC6( also publishes its 8o"erty ;ines @ust li%e CS0 >e also find
that there are other ministries that produce their statistics$ for e4ample the #inistry of
!ealth produces !ealth statistics$ while the #inistry of #inin' and (nternational Trade
produces statistics on trade This poses some competition to CS0 As a result$ CS0
o"ercomes the competition by impro"in' the corporate ima'e of the or'anisation and
presentation of its products

Statistical illiteracy
>e find that in 6imbabwe statistical illiteracy rate is "ery hi'h #ost people do not
understand statistics and its rele"ance in their li"es Sometimes e"en when the people
'et the fi'ures they do not %now how to use them correctly or how to interpret them As
a result the or'anisation sometimes the department finds itself cau'ht in a "icious cycle
where national statistics has been under5appreciated$ under"alued and underin"ested
To deal with the problem CS0 offers ad"isory and consultancy ser"ices on how to use
the statistics correctly to the members of the public Ta%in' for instance$ people are
tau'ht how to re"alueBad@ust their money balances$ salaries and assets usin' the C8(
!owe"er there is need for the or'ani+ation to increase statistical awareness to the
public

H.V&$."S &staff turnover
CS0 li%e many other or'anisations is e4periencin' a hi'h staff turno"er due to the
!(ABA(3S pandemic #any members of staff are dyin' lea"in' "acant posts$ while
some are bein' absent from wor% for a lon' time to ta%e care for their sic% relati"es at
home$ posin' a threat to CS0
0u'lic perception
>hat the people percei"e about the operations of an or'anisation has a 'reat impact on
the credibility of the or'ani+ation (n the case of CS0 the public has both positi"e and
ne'ati"e perceptionsT he users sometimes doubt the ,uality and credibility of the
national statistics produced thin%in' that the data is manipulated to suit the desires of
the politicians and the 'o"ernment since CS0 is a public department 3ue to ne'ati"e
perceptions CS0 has often found itself cau'ht in a "icious cycle where national
statistics has been under5appreciated$ under"alued and underin"ested The public
perception poses a bi' threat to the or'anisation
4esponse rate
The department sometimes suffers from low response rate especially in those sur"eys in
which data is collected usin' postal method Ta%in' for e4ample the School 1ees and
2ducation Sur"ey$ there has been a low response rate leadin' to delays in the
computation of indices
Chapter 9
9.1 C S OAs successes as measured 'y its mission and declared o'>ectives
The successes of Central Statistical office are seen throu'h its ability to contribute to
national de"elopment throu'h the production and dissemination of timely and
accurate national statistics that facilitate policy formulation 3ata and statistics from
CS0 ha"e always been of prime importance to the 'o"ernment of 6imbabwe for
policy formulation Ta%in' for instance the C8( is of prime importance in the
calculation of the <ational Bud'et by the #inistry of 1inance The 'o"ernment$
throu'h the ?eser"e Ban% also uses the C8( in determinin' the monetary and fiscal
policies
Central Statistical 0ffice has been successful in contributin' to national de"elopment
throu'h facilitatin' plannin' and decision ma%in' (t is "ital for the state and its
citi+ens to %now inflation rate$ the po"erty datum lines$ unemployment rate$ health
statistics$ crime rate and the -ross 3omestic 8roduct per capita amon' other indices$
all of which are products of CS0 The indices enable sound decisions which would
lead to national de"elopment Ta%in' for e4ample$ the 83; enables the state to %now
the ma'nitude of po"erty amon' its citi+ens allowin' it to be in a better position to
implement policies on po"erty alle"iation
CS0 has also been successful in enablin' e"aluation and research$ throu'h the
sur"eys that it carries out The department has been able to facilitate e"aluation and
research throu'h the comprehensi"e data base which it has Ta%in' for e4ample CS0$
has data on (nflation rate$ 8o"erty$ Crime statistics$ -38 and other <ational
Accounts$ 2mployment and ;abor statistics etc All these statistics enables e"aluation
and research to be done
The or'anisation has been successful in producin' official statistics that facilitate
transparency and 'ood 'o"ernance
Timeous production of some statistics (rate of inflation$ census)
Central Statistical 0ffice has been successful in producin' some statistics in time
Ta%in' for e4ample$ CS0 has been able to produce the rate of inflation and the 8o"erty
3atum ;ine on a monthly basis as re,uired
Compliance to international standards
CS0 today boasts of complyin' with international standards in the production of
official statistics used in policy formulation and decision ma%in' by the republic of
6imbabwe
(n5ser"ice trainin'
The in ser"ice trainin' that is meant to train staff in methods of data collection$
"alidation$ stora'e retrie"al$ display and analysis has been a success Central Statistical
0fficeCs in house trainin' has also been successful in moti"atin' staff to 'reater
efficiency by creatin' an interest in their wor% and the sub@ect matter of statistics$
mathematics$ economics and computin' This in turn contributes to national
de"elopment throu'h the production and dissemination of timely and accurate national
statistics that facilitate policy formulation$ plannin' and decision ma%in'

;e'islation (mandate to produce statistics)
The Central Statistical 0ffice has been successful in meetin' its mission and declared
ob@ecti"es$ by carryin' out its mandate to produce statistics in terms of the Census and
Statistics Act MChapter 1//&N The Act pro"ides for the ta%in' of a census$ for the
collection of statistics and for the publication of statistical informationF and to pro"ide
for matters incidental to the fore'oin' By fulfillin' its mandate$ we can see that CS0 is
indeed contributin' to national de"elopment throu'h the production and dissemination
of timely and accurate national statistics that facilitate policy formulation$ plannin' and
decision ma%in'
A comprehensi"e data base
CS0 has a comprehensi"e data base with data datin' bac% to 189& when the first
censuses were conducted CS0 produces prices statistics$ income statistics$ finance
statistics$ a'riculture and li"estoc% statistics$ population statistics$ labour and
employment statistics$ crime statistics$ trade statistics amon' many others This wide
ran'e of data contributes to national de"elopment throu'h the production and
dissemination of timely and accurate national statistics that facilitate policy
formulation$ plannin' and decision ma%in'
Chapter ;
;.1 !he Mar%et&ClientsA perceptions of the CSO and its operations
The clients ha"e both positi"e and ne'ati"e perceptions about the or'ani+ation$ and these
affects the corporate ima'e of the or'anisation and its credibility (n the case of CS0 the
clientsC perception has multiple effects on the ima'e of CS0$ "alidity$ reliability and
credibility of its products and ser"ices (Cll start by e4plainin' some of the positi"e
perceptions that the public has on CS0$ and then the ne'ati"e perceptions that they ha"e
on CS0
1irstly$ the clients percei"e the or'anisation as efficient in the production of official
national statistics This is seen in the ability of CS0 to meet the needs of the consumers
by producin' "arious statistical series in time Ta%in' for e4ample$ CS0 produces the
(nflation rate and the 8o"erty 3atum ;ines on a monthly basis as re,uired by the
international standards These indices are released on the 1/
th
of e"ery month
CS0 has a comprehensi"e data base$ an established sample frame$ a well established data
collection infrastructure$ multi5 s%illed employees and adheres to international standards
in the production of official statistics >ith these CS0 produces statistics that are used by
the public$ central 'o"ernment$ financial institutions$ international or'anisations and
<-0Cs such as (#1$ >B and =< This shows that the users of statistics ha"e confidence
in the operations of CS0

#oreo"er$ the outside world "iews CS0 employees as multi5s%illed$ professional$
inno"ati"e$ hi'hly ,ualified$ empowered$ %nowled'eable and professional analysts This
is seen in the results of their wor% Ta%in' for instance the or'ani+ation recruits people
with 'ood ,ualifications and 'oes on to train them usin' the in5ser"ice trainin' facility to
up'rade their s%ills in data collection$ "alidation$ stora'e retrie"al$ display and analysis (t
also sends staff abroad to learn further and also "isits other re'ional offices to study to
study how they carry out their duties
!owe"er$ despite the abo"e the clients ha"e ne'ati"e perceptions about CS0 and its
operations Since CS0 is a 'o"ernment department$ the clients sometimes thin% that the
statistics produced are manipulated to suit what the politicians or the 'o"ernment wants
Accordin' to the report on the wor%shop on the desi'n of the national strate'y for the
de"elopment of statistics held at Sheraton !otel$ !arare on *8 and *9 September *//&$
the results of the sur"ey on the assessment of the <ational Statistical System conducted in
Au'ust *//& showed that CS0 is not "isibleF users use their own data mostly while CS0
is ran%ed third as a source of data #ost people do not %now where CS0 is located and
the nature of business that it does
3urin' the discussions at Sheraton !otel$ some participantsBclients said that some of the
sur"eys carried out were not robust and some ,uestions were thou'ht to be irrele"ant to
some institutions This affects reliability and "alidity of the statistics produced by CS0 to
the users
Some users also thin% that data is not easily a"ailable to the users This is so because of
the physical location of the or'anisation$ since it is a 'o"ernment department located in a
'o"ernment premises So the fact that identity cards are re,uired upon entrance to the
buildin' may be the contributin' factor to the ne'ati"e perception

Chapter 6
6.1 "ifferences&discrepancies 'et/een the de#ree pro#ramme and the
/or% practices carried out at CSO.
There is little di"er'ence between the de'ree pro'ramme and the wor% practices carried
out at CS0 0ne of the differences between the theory learnt at colle'e and the wor%
practices lies in the practical ways of e4ecutin' tas%s$ duties and responsibilities usin'
computers and different software pac%a'es
Ta%in' for e4ample$ the computation of the item indices and the Consumer 8rice (nde4$
at colle'e the theory that ( leant was calculatin' the rate of inflation usin' the ;aspeyres
principle or the 8aasche formula$ in a course called Statistics for economists At CS0
they use the modified ;aspeyres in the computation of C8( The other difference lies in
the use of computers and software pac%a'es and pro'ramme such as the !armoni+ed
Consumer 8rice (nde4
At colle'e the theory on inflation rate re,uired students to come up with one inde4 which
is the Consumer price inde4 !owe"er at CS0 se"eral indices are computed usin' the
data from the Consumer 8rice Sur"ey 0ne can come up with an inde4 for each item in
the consumer bas%et$ for e4ample an inde4 for bread or an inde4 for coo%in' oil >ith the
data one can also compute an inde4 for a sub'roup of items$ for e4ample an inde4 for
bread and cereals$ and an inde4 for the ma@or 'roups of items$ for e4ample$ 1ood and non
alcoholic be"era'es
#oreo"er the wor% practices carried out in the department of attachment includes the
calculation of 8o"erty ;ines and 'raphs for the 8o"erty ;ines At school some theory on
8o"erty ;ines and 'raphs to show them was learnt in a course called 3e"elopment
2conomics$ but the practical way of calculatin' them was not included
1urthermore$ the wor% roles and duties carried out in 8rices section included data
collection by carryin' out sur"eys in the selected outlets (n this case a lot of thin's about
conductin' sur"eys were tau'ht at colle'e in a course called ?esearch #ethodolo'y$ as
part of the de'ree pro'ramme
The other difference lies in the way data is analysed at CS0 At colle'e in the courses
called Statistics for 2conomists and (ntroduction to 2conometrics we did data analysis
usin' calculators and not computers !owe"er at CS0 we did data analysis usin'
different software pac%a'es for mathematics$ statistics and econometrics ?e'ression
analysis$ T5Tests$ the 1 tests and many other tests were done usin' the computers
The writin' of reports and circulars was one another wor% practice carried out in the
8rices statistics section There is howe"er a no differences between the way the reports
and the circulars are desi'ned at CS0 and what was leant at colle'e the course called
Communication
(t can be noted that courses such as Statistics for economists$ (ntroduction to
econometrics$ 8rinciples of economics$ Communication$ #acro5economics$ 3e"elopment
economics$ (ntroduction to computers and ?esearch #ethodolo'y were 'reatly applicable
to the wor% practices carried out at CS0 durin' the period of attachment
9* 0ersonal "evelopments
#y e4perience at CS0 helped to appreciate the importance of teamwor% ( used to
belie"e in indi"idual effort but throu'h practice$ ( reali+ed that indi"iduality is a counter
producti"e ideolo'y$ so ( could now wor% with others as a team Speed and accuracy are
two important factors to consider at CS0 since inflation fi'ures must be published e"ery
month at a specified date Contrary to this$ ( was "ery slow especially in capturin'$
editin' and analysis of C8S data durin' the first wee%s of my e4perience !owe"er$ (
'radually become faster and more accurate with continued practice ( could now
effecti"ely mana'e my time to meet set tar'ets than before
6.3 42COMM2*"$!.O*S
(t has been an enli'htenin' period in which ( 'ot to understand the operations of statistics$
the beha"ior and relationship of "arious economic "ariables !owe"er there are some
areas which ( feel need to be impro"ed
6.3.1 4ecommendations to the $ccounts Section
The current bas%et adopted in :une *//& seems to be at "ariance with reality The
wei'hts seem to be distorted in relation with what is happenin' in the mar%ets The
sur"eys were done in *//1 and it will be naO"e that current conditions can be
appro4imated usin' information from that period ?esults of the sur"eys must be
implemented in the possible shortest period when they will be still rele"ant rather than
wait for two to three years The results which were used to fi4 the wei'hts were outdated
by the time of adoption There is need for speedy implementation and e4ecution of
adopted strate'ies
6.3.2 4ecommendations to the or#ani+ation
a- .nvest heavily in technolo#ical advancements
(n line with the mission statement that the department shall use hi'hly automated
technolo'y to impro"e efficiency$ there is need to in"est in technolo'ical ad"ances
3espite ha"in' a well connected and secure ;ocal Area <etwor% (;A<) at the head
office$ the same cannot be said of the pro"incial offices They la' behind in technolo'y
which at times poses a threat to maintenance of confidentiality They rely on time
consumin' manual systems The resources should be made a"ailable to procure ad"anced
technolo'y for use in data collection such as is done in South Africa (t allows data to be
sent on real time basis from the point of collection to the head office and ,ueries can thus
be resol"ed ur'ently
(n todayCs world of commerce$ or'ani+ations ha"e to be lin%ed with e5mails and fa4es so
that information can be sent on real time basis The current set5up in which some of the
8ro"incial 0ffices recei"e fa4es throu'h other offices can e4pose some of the sensiti"e
information to outsiders There is need to ensure that confidentiality is maintained at all
le"els to maintain credibility of the 3epartment (t is important that the office does not
lose control of "ital information
The 3epartment must also speed up the implementation of its website This matter
re,uires ur'ent attention as those that reside out of !arare do not ha"e ready access to
CS0 publications as the sellin' point is centrali+ed The website forms an inte'ral part
of present day or'ani+ationsC ability to reach to all corners The other option would be to
decentrali+e the sale of publications to the 8ro"incial 0ffices to allow easy access to
those out of the capital so that those in other parts are not disad"anta'ed while modalities
for implementation of a website are bein' wor%ed out (t is easier to %now what the rate
of inflation is in the =SA a country thousand of %ilometers away at the clic% of a button
and it ta%es a'es to 'et one for 6imbabwe
'- Settin# up of a mar%etin# team
>ith the transformation process of the department now a reality$ a mar%etin' team must
be set up to help e4plore new business opportunities as it will be operatin' as a consultant
not only for the -o"ernment but also for pri"ate players The department must be pro5
acti"e and the process must start now #ar%etin' now forms the cornerstone of e"ery
or'ani+ationCs ability to implement strate'ies and re5strate'i+e if duty calls #ar%etin' is
an interface between the or'ani+ation and its clients (n todayCs world of commerce$ there
is need to en'a'e a full time consultant responsible for e4plorin' business opportunities
that may arise with the transformation process throu'h 'atherin' intelli'ence
information

c- 0erformance measurement and revisit the Human 4esources section
This is a critical mission in the current harsh economic climate There is need for the
superiors to occupy themsel"es with performance measurement and mana'ement This
seems to be lac%in' at the moment within CS0 There seems to be a laisse+ faire way of
conductin' business ?ewardin' systems should be desi'ned so that candidates 'et what
they deser"e #any of the people are bein' punished for what they do not ha"e control
o"er and others rewarded for what they do not deser"e The superiors should ma%e
sacrifices for those that are not performin' and probably recommend their employer$ the
8ublic Ser"ices Commission$ to ha"e their ser"ices terminated The other option would
be to re5assi'n them to lesser demandin' posts
The !uman ?esources section also needs to be re"isited so as carry out its mandate to the
best of its ability The section must carry out its mandate of hirin' and implementin'
sound in5house trainin' pro'rams for the e4istin' staff and for 'raduates there is need to
ha"e a properly desi'ned -raduate Trainee 8ro'ram #ost of the sections are e,uipped
with people who do not understand the nature of their @obs leadin' to them bein' a one
man show (t is disheartenin' to note that some people who were recruited two years a'o
cannot e4ecute their basic duties (t becomes e4cess ba''a'e to the or'ani+ation and
should be 'otten rid of #oti"ation is low at the current moment and the 3irector and his
team ha"e to do somethin' in their power to impro"e wor%in' conditions =nfortunately
he does not ha"e control o"er the salaries but they must desi'n incenti"e schemes
acceptable to e"eryone
d- .mplementation of cost recovery measures
The a'ency needs to institute cost reco"ery measures on its publications so that it does
not continue to be a burden on the ta4payers -i"en the recurrent stationery shorta'es$ the
a'ency needs to set5up its fund to turn to in times of need #ost of the publications are
bein' sold at way below realistic prices The capacity is there to underta%e consultati"e
statistical business for other or'ani+ations because of the e4cess capacity not bein'
utili+ed (t usually sends warnin' si'ns when the cost of a publication is well below the
cost of photocopyin' a sin'le pa'e 2"ery opportunity to 'enerate re"enue should be
e4plored in this harsh en"ironment especially for the -o"ernment 3epartments which are
sufferin' from under fundin'
e- Hold pu'lic a/areness pro#rams
As a result of the interest created by the current inflation le"els and some other statistics$
the 3epartment must carry routine wor%shops to educate the sta%eholders on the issues
behind such as construction of wei'hts$ collection of prices and the importance and uses
of inflation to mana'in' day to day business and ma%in' monetary forecasts #ost of the
people in the communities do not understand the real issues behind The pro"iders of
information also need to be enli'htened on the pro"isions of the Census and Statistics Act
which ma%es it a criminal offence for pro"idin' wron' information intentionally The
3epartment has suffered se"ere criticism from the public and some media houses which
at times is unwarranted (t is a result of people not bein' well "ersed with the operations
of the or'anisation and awareness pro'rams will help people appreciate its functions
6.3.4 4ecommendations to the "epartment of 2conomics
The 3epartment should continue to maintain the current hi'h standards that ha"e made
its 'raduates the most sou'ht in the industry despite the enormous challen'es bein' faced
The 3epartment must ma%e an effort the course of introduction to 2conometrics to be
computeri+ed throu'h facilitatin' computers and econometric software pac%a'es to be
a"ailable to the students (t is a powerful course that will help students de"elop and
appreciate the role of forecastin' usin' historical data and ma%e sound @ud'ments there
from ( feel that an economist must be able to appreciate the relationship between "arious
economic "ariables and be able to impute the beha"ior of the other 'i"en a set of
conditions for the others ( was really e4posed when it came to usin' forecastin' models
6.3.5 Conclusion
#y e4perience with the CS0 has been a 'reat period of e4posure and ac,uaintance to the
@ob en"ironment ( can now appreciate that theory is meant for practice #y wor% related
learnin' e4perience is actually a reinforcement of economic statistics well fused with
macro economic concepts
The team wor%in' on the commercialisation of the 3epartment must sell their ideas to
e"eryone to reduce resistance of chan'e There is need for open communication so that
e"eryone understands the conse,uence of the e4ercise =nfortunately li%e any other
process of transformation$ there are 'oin' to be @ob losses as the A'ency will ha"e to
head hunt for the best human resources on the @ob mar%et and replace underperformers (
wish the or'anisation all the best in their future endea"ours