(Part 7)
Interviews and photos by Subhana Shiwmangal
Stabroek News on Thursday spoke to members of the public in the area from Mon Repos to Bachelor’s Adventure on the East Coast of Demerara generally about the rising cost of living and how it is affecting them. Their comments follow:
Prem Mahes
Prem Mahes: ‘The cost of living is very high at this moment because the salaries the people receive cannot support their families. Look at the gas prices, food prices and many more today; they all have gone up. For instance, one water coconut was $140 a few months back, now it has gone to $160 for one water coconut…another thing is the bora and bhaji; they all gone up by $20, $40. I know the gasoline prices have gone down, but still, the gasoline price is high…if the government could lower the gasoline price a little lower, it will be good. The government should see the best they can do to help the rise in the cost of living in Guyana so the prices can be affordable to us.’
Ryan Kumar
Ryan Kumar, tyre shop worker: ‘Everything has actually gone up high because when you break $5,000 now compared to a few months back, it finishes faster. For instance, the price for any bread, whole wheat or white bread has moved from $260 a few months back, and is now $460. The government should work on increasing private sector salary, also increase the public servants salary more, so the prices can suit their budgets.’
Randy Jagmohan
Randy Jagmohan: ‘The rise in cost of living is very hard for me because the amount of money that I’m earning cannot buy the quantity of things I may want. For example, when I finished paying the internet bill, water bill and light bill, the money that is left back from my earnings, it can’t really do for me to survive on…I’m spending more than I’m earning. They upgrade my internet a couple months ago, my internet bill was $4000 and something before they raised it, now it is $6000 and something…another thing is cooking oil, I’m paying $740 for a small bottle of cooking oil, before it was $600 and something a small bottle… other things gone up like chicken, rice; etc. The Government should raise the salary more for both private and public sectors, and the prices for basic commodity should drop back a little too…it seems like everything that raise in Guyana don’t drop back.’
Bibi Fazeela Ali
Bibi Fazeela Ali, cleaner at the Mon Repos market: ‘Right now I don’t have a home and I don’t have support from all of my kids nor family. I’m now living with my son who is renting an apartment and it is very expensive. Before my son used to pay $13,000 for an apartment, now he’s paying $22,000 with not enough room for both of us. The job here as a cleaner is small…when I finish taking out cleaning supplies I don’t left with much to pay myself. Also, on top of that the items are expensive that I buy in the market. For instance, the other day a small bottle oil was $600, now I’m purchasing the big bottle oil for $2,900 because everything is expensive so by buying the big bottle oil even though it is expensive, I know it would last a little longer than the small bottle. What I’m going to do? I know I can’t eat the money so I would buy items in large quantity in order for it to last a longer time. When it is me alone I will not buy plenty and not steady. For instance, a few months back a big bag of flour cost $1,900, now it is $2,600 a big bag flour…look at sugar now, 2 lb for $300, last few months it was $90 a lb and $100 a lb. I know the prices of items will drop because I have seen one and two prices gone down in the market but I’m asking if the Government can help me with getting a land and a house in my area…if they don’t have the land and house to give me, I will work my best through my job to pay them a mortgage for the land and house every month…to be honest the items gone up in the market and the salary is small to accommodate it…the Government should raise the salary a little more to accommodate the rise in cost of living to help the poor people…both private and public sectors.
D. Johnson
D. Johnson: ‘The Government don’t raise your salary but prices for things gone up. For instance, for the past few month ago a gallon of cooking oil was $3000 and something, now the cost for a gallon of cooking oil is $4000. Fish prices all gone up…even meat gone up now – fish, chicken, etc. For the past few months ago, 3 parcels of shrimps was $1000, now a half lb shrimps is $1000. The Government should help people who really need things, give us something…reduce the cost on our water bill and light bill… I heard the government will reduce light bill but I don’t know when. I’m thankful to God that I don’t have babies but grandchildren because living alone I’m struggling…so I’m thankful that everyone big and hustling for themselves. The government could do something for the poor people, if they want they can give us a stipend every month and reduce the cost on the light bill and water bill so the rise in the prices in the market can be affordable to us.’
Shauna Clinker
Shauna Clinker, public servant: ‘As a single parent with four children going to school the cost of living is high. Public servants need more money. For instance, for the past few months chicken was sold for $300 a lb, now chicken price is $500 a lb… another thing is cooking oil, before it was $400 for a small bottle of oil, now a small bottle of oil is $780 , almost $800. As a public servant the Government should increase public servant salary to another 8%…the Government should raise both private and public servants salaries so the prices in the market can be affordable to everyone.’
Karen Garnett
Karen Garnett: ‘I would say for me as a single person, I can afford to buy certain things but people who have family, it is really hard on them. Look I have neighbours who have children and I would have to help them out because the cost of living is high. Things expensive like rice, sugar, the greens in the market…the other day cooking gas gone up to $5200 – small bottle, for the past few months I used to buy $460 for the same bottle… Chicken gone up to $500 a lb, before it was sold for $360 a lb. The government should reduce the prices on consumer items because cost of living is so high right now, people not making out good with it…It have some people who are suffering, especially single mothers…even families too are suffering. Since vendors know that public servant salary increase by 8%, the prices will go up more…That’s another thing. The government should hold down on people in the market and stores that will increase their prices because soon they hear 8%, they raise their prices on items too. Look the other day I saw a roll of Vinyl selling for $1300 at the Chinese store next to me, now when I go back to check it out, the price gone up to $1800, everything expensive. The government should increase public servant salary by 12% or 15% more on their salary…8% can’t do anything to us because when taxes comes out of it, we are not getting anything…and things just going up more. The government should place a barrier on items in the market and stores so things can be affordable to us whenever they increase the public servant salary…right now I’m not studying Christmas.’
Corwin Catwell
Corwin Catwell: ‘The rise in cost of living affects everyone the same way because everything is expensive. Look at bread, for example, a few months back it was sold for $260, now the cost of any bread at any bakery is around $320. Everything raise in this country. Bread usually be the last thing in this country to raise. When bread raise, everything else raise in this country. Another simple thing is the $100 water that was sold a few months ago is now being sold for $120 in most place and the Government is not raising the salary in the private and public sectors. I don’t understand what kind of metric is this. Raise public servants salary higher so the salary can meet the demand of the rise in cost of living in the country right now. The Government should raise people salary in general, the system can’t work like that knowing that things are expensive and the salary is below the rise in cost of living. Raise the stipend on pension too’.
Roopnarine Singh
Roopnarine Singh: `The gasoline price is still high for me as a taxi driver. The Government should at least lower the Guyoil gasoline price a little more, maybe around $180 per litre. Since things has been rising in the country, we, taxi driver had to raise the taxi fare a little by a $100 for short drops in and out of Strathspey because we couldn’t afford to feed our family as hire car owners, the money is not working out for me and my family because everything is expensive.…before the taxi driver used to charge $200 for short drop, now we charging them $300 for short drop, some people don’t want to pay the extra $100 but some do, the taxi drivers here accepts it both ways. For example, sometimes in a day, I would earn $7000 then I have to take money out of that to throw back gas and then give my wife the money to buy things for the house…she too say how things expensive in the market. Before I used to give her $5,000 to feed the family but now I have to find at least $10,000 to give her to feed a family of five of us, and I am the sole breadwinner for the family’.
Quincy Smith
Quincy Smith, greens vendor: ‘75% of the poor people have been coming every day and they are not financially stable. Also, they don’t have a day to day work…Some people doing construction work while some doing security, some don’t have a day to day work… because some of them work part-time for the government so they don’t have a day to day work and the finance is not enough for them to afford to buy greens. For instance, greens right now is ‘sky high’, a pound of plantain right now is $260, a few months ago it was $160 a lb and $120 a lb…another thing is sweet potatoes, price per lb is $300 now, before it was $200 a lb, 170 a lb…even carrot gone up now, a pack now is $700, $600, for the past few months it was $260, $300 and $380, things are very expensive. Eddoes is at a stable price now…pine all gone up, the cost for pine before was $340, $360 (medium size) and $140, $160 and $100 for small pines…now pine is $360, $400 (small ones) and $600 and $700 for the big ones. Then there is watermelons, celery, cucumber; etc, that are high in prices. When I’m buying these things to sell back, the prices raise and if the price raise I have to raise my price too, so I can make a profit when selling back. It’s not easy sometime, what we are going to do? We still have to live. We have to do what we have to in order to survive. I think the Government should reduce the prices on food items like the greens, fruits, etc…since 65% to 75% of the population are poor and people don’t buy certain things because the prices are high since things are going up every day. The government should raise the public servants salary higher, about 10% or 15% more because the rise in cost of living is high’.
Chanrouti Premsukh
Chanrouti Premsukh: ‘The cost of living is very high and I’m trying to make ends meet. Right now I have a sick son with cancer, he’s very sick. I do sell in the market but still the things in the market makes it difficult for me to purchase but I’m still trying to make ends meet. Everything in the goods setup is very expensive. For instance, the pound package, Natura milk for the past few months was $460, now it is $500 and $680 for the same pack of Natura milk…then you have a pound of sugar selling for $160 and $180 now, before the same pound of sugar was $120, $90 and $80. Even the toilet paper gone up, before a bale was $700 and something and 800 and something, now a bale of toilet paper raise to $1500. The government is trying his best, he can’t do anything much…some people when they hear things short in the market, they raise up the prices of their items. What the Government can do though, is to raise the public servants salary higher so people can afford to purchase items in the market since the cost of living is high in the market.’
Petronella Cox
Petronella Cox: ‘The cost of living is high, it is way above the salary. What I used to budget for when the month come, I now have to put more money into it…so I don’t really get to save that extra dollar or so. The cost of living rising in the shop but the salary is not rising. The government should raise public servants salary higher because the country is becoming a oil producing country. When we never used to pump the oil we used to get 8% increase on our salary, so why should we get 8% now? If we can get a 16% more rather than 8%, it will be good for starters. Look at the handle bottle cooking oil, before it was $1,800 a bottle, now it is $3,500 and $3,300 a bottle…even flour gone up, everything raise.’
