Stabroek News on Wednesday spoke to people generally about the rising cost of living and how it was affecting them. Their comments follow:
Hazel Livan
Hazel Livan, a 67-year-old said: `The cost of living is very high because you got the children to send to school, you got the rent to pay, you have food to buy and it is very high, very, very high. And the money don’t do because I have a sick son at home, and I’m a single parent. The Government should at least give the pensioners money and the public servants money, so that we can live a better life.’
Deborrah Payna
Deborrah Payna, Herb vendor in the Bourda market: `I think the cost of living right now is very expensive because every time the Government raise public servants salary, they raising a variety of food items like rice, sugar, flour; school items etc. The President promise us before the election that he will bring down the cost of living, and so far, his promises has not come true. I think he needs to do less investment and care more about the lower class of people. Also, the reduction in the cost of living will contribute to less crime among people, and things can be done for young people so they could be off the streets looking for proper paying jobs. This will help them to stop smoking and drinking, things will be better.’
Shelly Barker
Fruit Vendor, Shelly Barker, in Bourda market: `Well everything gone up, things are expensive causing the market to be not as bright as every day. Last four months the prices of some food items like oil, sugar gone up and remain the same way. In my opinion sugar was 1 something a pound last 4 months, now it’s about $200 a lb.’
Mario George
Mario George said: `Cost of living right now is very high with the salary that we are getting… when tax comes out and say you have things on hire purchase to pay and other things, when you done pay out these debts you will hardly have enough money to buy foods and other necessities for yourself. Food price is high right now as I can remember last time a food was around $1000, now to buy food you have to pay about $1500, and all the way up because greens and other produce are expensive right now. Since the last few months to now I have noticed the cost of living remained like this. Government should increase the salaries of persons or lower the prices of the goods and services, and persons will eventually be able to afford these things’.
Amrita Dojoy
Businesswoman, Amrita Dojoy: `Even though I’m a businesswoman, I’m worried about the ordinary man who has to depend on a monthly wage, because some items have gone up double the prices. What they can probably do is subsidize instead of going for things that they can’t afford, go for things that are nutritious, and are affordable. So there are choices that they can make as well. But, yes, there is definitely concerns for the cost of living, and it’s not just local but international. We will see as time goes by with the ending of the pandemic if things will go back to normal. If you look at the last few months for instance, you have seen even the provisions, the vegetables in the market have been sky high but I’m seeing that prices have begun to drop, and I hope that it continues on that trend, so it can be more affordable for the ordinary man. I recommend we grow more food.’
Donnette Downer
Donnette Downer, concerned public servant: `I’m very much concerned as a public servant, it’s time the government look into the cost of living for public servants. Fishermen are getting cash grants and everybody else, except the public servants. For the last few months it has been the same cost of living because at the end of the month, your salary is the same and for a fact, every day when you go in the market, the prices keep going up. Two weeks ago pumpkin was selling for $1000 dollars in Bourda market for a slice. The Government should increase the salary or give public servants a cash grant too but then that would just be a one-off payment. That still wouldn’t cushion the cost of living. Come November, December which the government might announce an increase for public servants, I hope it is something tangible, because the thing is a lot of people jump up when they hear they getting salary increase but then the sellers, the time they hear public servants getting salary increase, prices go up. When you get the salary increase, prices go up again so you are still at square one’.
Rajin Bahadur
Rajin Bahadur, 23, `I’m seeing that everything constantly going up, and the most you can do is to budget for it since nothing seems like it is going down, instead of quarrelling about it. The only thing I saw going down recently is gasoline, everything else going up such as food and basic commodities. The last few months it has been the same and in terms of business, it’s getting more slow, it has started since at the previous election, since then it has been on a constant decline, and after that it was the COVID. It’s like the money goes out faster than it comes in because some days it is really, really hard for business. So it’s better you budget for it than quarrel for it which will get you nowhere.”
Arlene Yansen
Businesswoman in the Vendor’s Arcade, Arlene Yansen: “Cost of living has been rising tremendously for the past three months. In the market everything has gone up such as the vegetables. The vegetables that could have feed like seven persons, now you have to double that amount because everything expensive. Milk gone up, oil gone up; everything gone up, I don’t know where we heading. The Government should raise the public servant salary, so that they can further put some food on the table, because you can’t go to work without a full stomach.’
Brahnan Chin
Brahnan Chin, Scotiabank employee: `The past few months everything have been raising due to inflation and it’s becoming impossible for Guyanese to survive on basic wages because if you are trying to survive off of the minimum wage that is currently set for both private and public sectors, it is impossible to do it on your own with one single means of income’.
Satesh Singh
Satesh Singh, 21, an employee at the Fabulous Store on Regent Street: `The prices for items are up and down. Some items you are paying more for now like food and gasoline. Gasoline prices at other gas station have not yet drop. Also, material prices on hardware are up because materials were three something dollars for a foot of zinc, now it is about 6 or 7 something dollars for it. They need to drop the prices. I think the government is working on the prices, however, they should work on the salaries for both private and public sectors.’
Roy Maxwell
Roy Maxwell, security guard at GBTI: `The cost of living has gone up on normal stuff you would normally buy every day like milk and cheese. The things you normally pay $160 dollars for, you paying $400 now. I don’t know how people managing now because the cost of living is extremely high. Even toothpaste and soap prices are high. When you ask vendors what they doing to drop these prices, vendors saying I bought it at this price so I’m selling it for this price. So I don’t know what to do about it and how to go about doing it’.
