The price reductions for fuel announced by the Guyana Oil Company (GuyOil) earlier this month have not filtered down to Lethem, Region Nine, where gas stations continue to charge prices that are twice that of GuyOil’s.
“When I heard the gas price dropped, I felt a bit relieved because since restrictions have been in place, food supplies gone up and everything gone up. So when I went to Lethem to stock up, I was surprised that it barely went down,” said Clareta Isaacs, who spoke with Stabroek News about fuel prices in Lethem.
GuyOil announced significant reductions in fuel prices from April 3, following previous reductions announced on March 18.
However, at Lethem, which is known for high costs on goods, the service stations have not passed on the reductions in fuel pric-es to customers, according to some residents.
Isaacs expressed her frustration. “I feeling frustrated because of the coronavirus. Nobody ever takes into consideration the Amerindian people. So now I’m asking myself why the gas price haven’t dropped like they said it would. Are we being discriminated and why? We are among the poorest in the country. Prices in the hinterland was always high and we are accustomed to that but now we are dealing with a pandemic and a lot of people are struggling,” the shopkeeper told Stabroek News. She observed that people in Lethem have grown accustomed to prices being high but during this time, it is not expected.
Isaacs further said that gas stations are taking advantage of persons in the area and pointed out that while the price for gasoline nationwide is $130 per litre compared to the previous price of $201 per litre, in Lethem the price is $260 and sometimes $270 per litre.
“I’m a shopkeeper and right now it’s hard and I’m not making a profit because people coming and saying they can’t afford food supplies and I can’t turn them away. I don’t know why they [gas stations] ain’t dropped their prices,” Isaacs lamented, She charged that it seems like persons are trying to make a profit during a time when some persons are struggling to make ends meet.
Isaacs also expressed concern about the price of food. She explained that with the reduction in fuel prices, transportation to have the food supplies taken to and around the area would drop as well, which would make it cheaper for persons to purchase food supplies, but this is not happening. “We just want the same benefit that everyone else is getting since most of us here are not rich. There are few persons [here] that can afford the high prices on food supplies. But I have to say, the gas stations in Lethem serve the entire region but it is the people who live in the scattered villages around the region that are punishing the most during this time,” she said.
After speaking with Isaacs, Stabroek News reached out to the oil company but was told by a representative that no one was available to respond at the time. Efforts were also made to contact the Civil Defence Commission representative for Region Nine but those calls went unanswered as well.
