==For the economic cartels who have already made their millions and put into real estate and driven up the prices, stashed away in Euro/USA banks or otherwise, the final bill and costs are picked up by Kenyans whether rich or poor. == The cost of living is expected to touch a new high at the end of the month with the adjustment of official data to reflect the impact of the weak shilling on prices of consumer goods. Thursday’s release of inflation figures promises to offer the much awaited reality check as to how the shilling, under siege most of the month, has impacted on inflation which has been on the rise since February and crossed the double-digit mark two months ago. “We expect inflation to average 13.6 per cent in 2011, with further increases probable before it peaks and starts to decline again,” said Razia Khan, a London-based economist with Standard Chartered. The National Economic and Social Council (NESC) met in Naivasha at the weekend with the twin threats of inflationary pressure and the shilling’s crash weighing heavily on the participants’ minds. The Kenyan currency has plummeted from a high of Sh83 to the dollar in March to Sh91 to the greenback last week, representing nominally the lowest level in the currency’s history. Kenya National Bureau of Statistics estimates that 87.9 per cent of Kenya’s inflation is driven by the surge in food, oil and housing prices that feed on each other to worsen the cost of living. http://www.businessdailyafrica.com/Corporate+News/Consumers+hit+by+new+wave+... -- The EL_Diablo is a metaphor...