Interviews and photos by Subhana Shiwmangal
Stabroek News on Thursday spoke to members of the public in the areas from Central MacKenzie to Amelia’s Ward, Linden, Eastern Bank of the Demerara River generally about the rising cost of living and how it is affecting them. Their comments follow:
Haslyn Edmondson, a 50-year-old: ‘Everything in the market gone up, to my knowledge…everything is very expensive in the market, even rice. Look at pork, for the past few months ago, a pound of pork was $400, now that same pound is $600/$700-lb…Greens all gone up, a bundle of bora that used to have 5 bundle inside was sold for $400 before, now the quantity is reduced by 3 bundles for the same price. I live with my old lady and she’s a pensioner and she’s feeling it, even I’m feeling because we can’t afford to buy certain things since things are expensive… I’m aware that the Government has increased the pension, however, I think they should put control prices on food items…the vendors when they see salaries or pension increase, they too increase their prices on food items, the rising cost of living here in this town is very high.’
Ousan Gardon, a 50 year-old farmer: ‘The rising inflation is too high in a sense because for the past 2/3 months ago, people are buying ochro for $360 a lb, now it is $400 a pound…Sweet potatoes used to be like a $100a lb , now a pound of sweet potatoes is $350. You’re talking about over 200 percentage, things have inflated by. The rising cost of living is really high and this is affecting everyone…I have a family member that buys from me, other than that I would actually have to beg people to buy from me because the people don’t have the money to buy certain things. It really hard on me because I have children going to school… We used to pay $100 for a short drop with a car before the pandemic, when the pandemic came the driver took $150 because they have to carry less passengers in the car, presently the taxi drivers are fetching the same passenger at a higher price, like $160, $150. The pandemic brought on more crisis and the Government is saying they are subsidizing these things but the things them continuing rising. I think the Government should put things in place to find certain ways or some measures to lower the prices in the market…things really getting out of hand here…taxi to go to Amelia’s Ward from Central Mackenzie was $500 before, now it’s a $1000. The Government should come and do a walk around in Central Mackenzie, I know that he did the walk around in the outskirts of the town like Wismar and so… and drainage and so were raise to his attention, however he should come here in Central Mackenzie and see how the basic thing, inflation, affecting us.’
Basmattie Ramdeo, 31 year-old fruit vendor: ‘The rising cost of living is high and whether it’s rain or sun we, young people have to work and it’s hard. The Government has done a lot of things for us yes but we own people that we buy from to sell back…is the people that raises these things. However, as business people, we have to feel the pressure. If you look at how I buy to sell back, the wholesaler price is higher and I have to buy it still to make a living…I would have to raise the prices on my end too, to make something. For instance, I would buy greens, sweet figs bananas and those long bananas to sell back because I live in the river and I don’t really get to do farming there, I mostly buy and sell…and, for the past few month ago, I would buy $200 a lb for the long banana and I would sell it for $140 a lb, also I would purchase the sweet figs banana for $90 before and resell it for $120 a lb…last month banana prices raise and it hasn’t gone down. I purchased the long ones for $360 a lb and now selling it for $400 a lb , followed by the sweet figs, which I now sell for $300 a lb. I can’t say exactly what the Government should do because the Government is helping us, however, they should really look into this matter…even the money given for the schoolchildren can’t do because the prices in the town for items are really high.’
Elizabeth Richmond, 52 years-old: ‘Things raise up a little yes. As a clothes vendor I found that the prices for everything in the market fluctuates…when the prices go up, it going up and not coming down back down, it stays that way. People are buying thing because they need it, however, I think the government should put control prices on food items to control the way prices go up and never comes down. For instance, Greens are up right now since a pound of cabbage is $400 and around Christmas time it was sold for $300 a lb… even a tray of eggs gone up, a tray is sold now for $1500, before it was sold for $1300 and $1200. I have to try to support my three children that is going to school because you know each day they will need money for something. The Government should stabilize the prices for basic items, for instance, rice, sugar and flour…so everyone can save and things can be affordable to us as parents, to send our children to school.’
Jennifer Robeiro: ‘Right now everything gone up high, I only came back out to sell in December after being sick for 3 years and everything in the market is high. Look at the price for a pound of ochro now, it is $400, for the past few months ago, it was sold at $200 and something a pound…everything rise, a pound of tomatoes now is $600, a couple of months back it was $200 a lb…even milk, flour and sugar gone up. I’m living alone so I would not feel it as much as other people do because if things brown with me…my children would help me. The Government could try to place control prices on food items and maybe raise the salary for the people.’
Quincy Milling: ‘The rise in prices for everything in the market gone up and it’s affecting me. Look at how a pound of ochro is sold at now for, it is $300 and something, a few months ago it was a $100 and something a pound…then you have sugar, a pound of sugar now is $200, before it was $100 a lb. This rise in prices is really affecting me because I hardly make money and the little of money I made, I have to spend it back to buy items in the market, leaving myself without sometimes…I can’t even save, the transportation cost to send my kids to school every day from Central MacKenzie to Wismar is $150, before it was a $100. Food is something that people use every day, the Government should place control prices on food items and raise the clothes prices. If you look at the Caribbean countries, food is cheap, cheap and clothes is very expensive.’
Michelle Lambert: ‘I have three kids that use cornflakes every day and the milk prices now fluctuates…one
time it $660, the next time it is $900. I would normally walk and sell things in the market and the prices of the ingredients to make my things to sell, is really expensive.
For instance, to make sour, a few months ago I used to buy a pound of tamarind for $500, now I’m buying that same pound of tamarind for $1600…look at mango prices, before I used to buy 3 mangoes for $100, now I pay the same $100 for 1 mango. This is really affecting me because I can’t make no sort of profit seeing that the things in the market have gone up in this town…I probably have to go in Georgetown to buy the mangoes at a wholesale price because I know I will get it at a cheaper price there…I don’t know what else to do, sometimes I would want to give up on the business but I can’t give up. As a single parent, I think the Government should start giving single parents a little stipend or something at the sort, to help us out. Also, I think Guyana needs control prices on food items because the prices especially in Linden is ‘killing’ the people here.’
Roxanne Bacchus: ‘I have a special diet that I used often, the prices for my items that I include in my diet have increased. Among one of the items used is Almond milk and the price for the milk fluctuates…sometime I buy a small box for $1000, $800…right now the small one is $800, medium size box is $1000- $1100, depending on where I purchase it. Generally though, the prices for some food items have increased in the market, I think these rises in prices depends on the time of the year. What I do seeing that this happens, I try to supplement my income because I’m a pensioner and I do a little side hustle to take charge so as to balance myself and family…we don’t feel it like the other people do because in addition to that I try to do my gardening and at the same time, I would sell produce from it…so my family and I are able to afford the rising cost of living, not forgetting budgeting. However, currently, I’m doing additional work to my home and the materials are expensive…sometimes I purchase TCL cement for $1600 and then $1,800 a bag, depending on the available of the item. Here in Amelia’s Ward, where I’m living it has people that have reached of age and don’t have a work , for instance, widowers and other persons within the town, are willing to work and do things for themselves but because of the lack of opportunities or capital they can’t do anything for themselves. I think the Government should set up a system of various livestock so people can mine layers, broiler, etc…and to assist them with the capital to do so… for me, I was a teacher so I would use my head to bring in extra income in my home but others they need that kick start to bring in income into the home. Another thing the Government can consider doing is to place control prices on items.’
Latoya Beckles: ‘The cost of living is high. Milk price has gone way up, before it was $600 for a small pack Fernleaf milk, now the small pack is like $900, within a short period of time it went up that high… Fresh food and so on in Linden is very high, it’s hard for a large family to prepare a vegetable meal. For instance, ochro is sold in the market now for $400 a lb and if you are catering for a family of 10, you can imagine the amount of ochros you have to purchase in order to make that preparation for the family…it’s very tough, especially on single parents family. The Government should look into why things have risen so high in the market and to subsidize something in order for the prices to go down…because the prices need to go down, all the stuff the Government is doing doesn’t matter, if our salaries and so on are not rising, especially the private sector and so on. I think if the Government subsidize in some sort of way, things can work out for the people.’
Collin Rodney: ‘Every items has risen in the market and I think that it is so because the Government don’t have control prices on items. Just imagine we are importing sugar in Guyana and a pound of sugar now is $200…three months ago, a pound of sugar was $80. Look at how a pound of milk is sold for now, it is $700 and some places , $720 a lb, before that same pound of milk was sold for $460…the rise in these things have been affecting me a lot because besides the little snackette I run, I collect my NIS pension, apart from that I don’t have any other income to sustain me and my family.…I have to wait until I’m 65 years old to get old age pension and this is hard on the little kids too since they have to go to school and so… I have worked 42 years in the bauxite company and I think I should be at ease now, however, the rising in cost of living says otherwise. I haven’t really study what the government should do to prevent the rising cost of living but I think they should control prices on items in the market and increase salary a little more, so the rising cost of living can be control.’
Keith Ferrier: ‘When I look at the cost of living that is something that is affecting the world at large. I’ve seen news and people in other countries really suffering. In this country, yes but when you look at the rising cost of living in another point of view or from another aspect…the Government has been subsidizing a lot of things in order to keep the cost of living from sky rocketing, in sense of electricity… more like Linden where I live, when a relative come from abroad and they look at the prices we pay compared to what they pay abroad, it’s good… I personally feel it is something worldwide and this country I feel is not at the stage where it is beyond the Government or our capacity to restore the cost of living to normalcy. I do hope and I know in the very far future, even with the budget recently made…41% more of money was added to our budget and all these things are things that are very exciting for us in Guyana. In the far future, I think the Government will have everything for us in Guyana because right now, they are spending so much on agriculture, to feed the people and education, to education the people and every other aspects…and I think they are not very far from having the cost of living under control….i think they have this under control because I saw news where people are suffering more than this and Guyana is no near that. Things have gone up yes, like cheese, the cost of cheese now is $1,100 and before it was $900…a tray of eggs a few months was $900, now it’s $1300 and $1400, some places…the Government have this under control.’
Eliza Smith, 50-years-old: ‘The rising cost of living is affecting me in groceries when it comes to the greens and ground provisions. Where the greens are concern, I had to start my kitchen garden because I could not afford to pay $340-lb, 350- lb for ochro now to feed my family of six…before a pound of ochro was sold for $300.The ground provisions too is very costly too, a pound of plantain now is $240, before it was $100 followed by cassava where it was sold for $100 a lb but now it cost $200 a lb. I would like the Government to assist small farmers in various areas like to provide seedlings…also provide seeds to young kitchen garden farmers and assist vendors, by getting the prices, down in the market a little lower or to see how they can negotiate with the vendors or the farmer… whoever is raising their prices high. Also, besides the cash grant the Government had shared out, they can provide about 20, 25 chicken to each household with 2 bags of feeds so people in the town can be able to sustain themselves…it’s better than not doing it.’
in another point of view or from another aspect…the Government has been subsidizing a lot of things in order to keep the cost of living from sky rocketing, in sense of electricity… more like Linden where I live, when a relative come from abroad and they look at the prices we pay compared to what they pay abroad, it’s good… I personally feel it is something worldwide and this country I feel is not at the stage where it is beyond the Government or our capacity to restore the cost of living to normalcy. I do hope and I know in the very far future, even with the budget recently made…41% more of money was added to our budget and all these things are things that are very exciting for us in Guyana. In the far future, I think the Government will have everything for us in Guyana because right now, they are spending so much on agriculture, to feed the people and education, to education the people and every other aspects…and I think they are not very far from having the cost of living under control….i think they have this under control because I saw news where people are suffering more than this and Guyana is no near that. Things have gone up yes, like cheese, the cost of cheese now is $1,100 and before it was $900…a tray of eggs a few months was $900, now it’s $1300 and $1400, some places…the Government have this under control.’
Eliza Smith, 50-years-old: ‘The rising cost of living is affecting me in groceries when it comes to the greens and ground provisions. Where the greens are concern, I had to start my kitchen garden because I could not afford to pay $340-lb, 350- lb for ochro now to feed my family of six…before a pound of ochro was sold for $300.The ground provisions too is very costly too, a pound of plantain now is $240, before it was $100 followed by cassava where it was sold for $100 a lb but now it cost $200 a lb. I would like the Government to assist small farmers in various areas like to provide seedlings…also provide seeds to young kitchen garden farmers and assist vendors, by getting the prices, down in the market a little lower or to see how they can negotiate with the vendors or the farmer… whoever is raising their prices high. Also, besides the cash grant the Government had shared out, they can provide about 20, 25 chicken to each household with 2 bags of feeds so people in the town can be able to sustain themselves…it’s better than not doing it.’
