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| | Rising prices spur calls for a pay hike (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-09-08) |
 | | The cost of a monthly basic needs basket, comprising rentals, school fees, water, electricity and foodstuffs, has shot up from around 11,000 Malawian Kwacha (MK) (about US $101) in January to MK 13,500 (about $124) at the end of July. |
 | | Average salaries in Malawi range from around MK900 (about $8.40) per month for a security guard, and between MK 1,800 (about $16.80) and MK 4,700 (about $43.90) a month for teachers, secretaries, nurses and police officers. |
 | | A 50-kg bag of maize meal, which cost Malawians MK 500 in January, can now set them back more than MK 700, while the price of charcoal, used by poor people as cooking fuel, has increased by more than a MK 100 (about 90 US cents) since January. |
| www.irinnews.org /print.asp?ReportID=42668 (506 words) |
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