Zimbabwe National Statistics Agency (ZimStat) is up in arms against a professor of Applied Economics at Johns Hopkins University, Steve Hanke, over Zimbabwe’s annual inflation figures.
ZimStat says Zimbabwe’s annual inflation rate was at 256% in July, but Hanke opposed this and said the year on year inflation rate was 595%.
The statistics agency said Hanke uses exchange rates and stock market indices, rather than the accounting for inflation which involves tracking prices of commodities in the goods and services market making the Professor’s model and methods questionable.
Factors that drive the stock market indices are different from those that drive goods and services.
Director General at ZimStat, Taguma Mahonde said Hanke turned aggressive on Zimbabwe after failing to secure a contract with the country’s government for millions of dollars.
“By the last quarter of 2018 it then dawned on the professor that no contract was coming his way. This is when the animal in the Professor took charge,” Mahonde said.
“Up to now he (Hanke) talks negatively of authorities in Zimbabwe with most being labelled incompetent.”
Mahonde wennt on to say, “He pushed the agenda that wrong calculation of consumer price indices or suppression of inflation rates is synonymous with ZIMSTAT.”
Hanke’s method makes Zimbabwe a country with the highest annual inflation rate in the world.
The Professor has responded by calling Mahonde a clown.
“A circus, amply supplied with clowns, has arrived in Harare, Zimbabwe. The lead clown is none other than the Director-General of ZimStat Taguma Mahonde. He’s holding a banner: “Zim’s inflation = 256.9%/yr.” SPOILER ALERT: Zim’s inflation = 479%/yr,” Hanke said using his Twitter handle.