Stabroek News on Wednesday spoke to members of the public at Parika, East Bank Essequibo generally about the rising cost of living and how it is affecting them. Their comments follow:
Marissa Wong
Marissa Wong, 25-year-old fruits’ vendor: “The cost of living is really high because everything gone up in the market. For instance, a few months ago, the cost of a small bag Karibee rice was $1,300, now the same bag of rice is sold for $1,800… Then you have a small Fernleaf being sold for $740. Before, that same pack of milk cost $460. As a single parent of two children, I would do a day-to-day hustle by selling fruits to provide for my family. However, not every day the fruits would sell. Some days I would barely make $8,000 to feed my family. On top of that I have to find transportation cost, $1,800 to carry in my fruits in the afternoons and then bring it out back in the mornings… and if, let us say I sold oranges for $1,000 a day, I have to find the rest of the money to stand the cost to run and feed my family for that day. This is really hard seeing that I have two children to take care of each day. Things in Guyana is getting hard, if inflation in Guyana is 11% on food, imagine how I’m struggling to cope with the rising cost of living. The government should pay the public servants $200,000 a month, $80,000 can’t do and it doesn’t make sense they are building the roads, roads are not progress in the country because the money is not trickling down to the people. Instead they should do something to reduce the rising cost of living in the country because everything expensive in the market. Also, the government should place control price on food item in the market to control the prices that the business people puts on to prevent them from exploiting the people.”
Tasha Fortune
Tasha Fortune, a 46-year-old vendor said: “Things are very expensive and they are getting very, very hard in the country. The budget that was read in parliament, instead of the government reducing taxes on vehicle, they could reduce the prices on food items so poor people can afford to buy food items. Right now poor people can’t afford it that’s why people saying, we have a lot of thieving going on in the country. What are we going to do, seeing that the cost of living is rising in the market? Different supermarkets, different prices for the items, the Karibee brown rice, potatoes, sugar; everything gone up and everyday something raising in the supermarkets. For instance, the small Karibee brown rice, a few months cost $1,400, now the cost various at different supermarkets is $1,800 or $1,900 and something and $2,000 and something. As a single parent of four children, I sell egg balls in order to provide for my family. Look, some days I would barely make it to turnover back items. I don’t get nothing much to save. However, it’s a good thing I don’t have any loan to pay, so I’m trying to cope with the rising food items in the market. We need price control officers here or the government should build back the Co-op where we can go there and buy goods… that will be very nice because right now things are hard.”
Soneeta Singh
Soneeta Singh said: “My family have bus, however, the gas price raise and some days we barely make $8,000 a day. Then you have to cater that gas have to come out of that, when all expenses are out, they really not working for no kind of money. Things really expensive now even though both my son and husband work minibus. In addition to that I have two grandchildren without father and mother that I’m minding. The rising cost of living is really hard. My son was trying to register his son at Special Lambs school but the fee is $30,000 for one term. Adding to that the school clothes is expensive to buy for him; my son couldn’t afford to have his child enrol into the private school, instead he enroled him into a public school. Look at the items in the market — it is expensive, you can’t afford to go and buy greens like before because everything gone up. For instance, if I buy a $500 bora that cannot do for my family since I’m getting less than how I used to buy it for before. I bought $300 in bora recently and I probably got like 20 bora, I had to mix it with potatoes for it to do for my family. Potatoes they raise that by $40, I pay $140 for a pound now, before it was $100 a pound. My daughter didn’t even receive her $25,000 the government was sharing out, although she was registered for it because she was by me since her house wasn’t built as yet and she was told she has to go to her house. When she did that, her daughter was told the money finished and to go back two months after, until now, she and her husband haven’t received the money but other people came the same time and they got it. We are really annoy about this, plus seeing that the cost of living is high. I think the government should put control prices on items because things really expensive in the market, different supermarket and different price for the items…even Fernleaf milk, oil, expensive.”
Shivika David
Shivika David said: “The flour has risen a lot… My salary, it is a very low income… it’s like the more money we have, we just spending it back in food. For instance, a small pack of Thunderbolt flour now is $600, a few months ago the cost was $400 and something. Look at the cost a small pack of Karibee rice being sold for now, it’s $1,800, before the same pack of rice was sold for $1,500. We tried to buy smaller amount to cope with the rising in prices for food because we always run out of stuff. My sister and I what we do, we try to restore the items once finished because we have a nephew to look after too and that would be difficult too since we have to pay rent from the small income we receive. Last year rent was $15,000, this year we are paying $25,000. The government should maybe have better prices on food items and lower the taxes because people who are working for low incomes, can’t afford food items.”
Krishna Boodhoo
Krishna Boodhoo, 44 -year-old taxi driver said: “I’m living at Market Street and the road is bad. I made many calls to the ministry. They sent a guy with a tractor. He just dig out the mud from the road and left it like that, he made the situation worst. It’s affecting me as a taxi driver because repairs had to be done to my car since the bottom of the car keeps touching the road. I would pay like $10,000/$5,000 on repairs, depending on the damage caused to the car. Apart from the repairs, the items in the market are high, for instance, a medium bottle oil before was $600, now it is $600 something for the same bottle oil; milk before was $600, now it cost $720. My family and I are trying to cope with these rising prices in the market. We can’t even save, the money we receive we have to spend back in groceries and every time we go to the supermarket, we are getting different prices for items. The government should look into the supermarket prices because every day the prices going up. They can put control prices on food item. Also, the government should fix the road because every week I have to buy tyres.”
Govendra Bachu
Govendra Bachu, a 43-year-old welder said: “I can’t say that food items or things in general are sold at a reasonable price but what I have observed is that everything, in the market, is expensive now — $20, $40 and $100 things gone up by in the market. For instance, I would normally buy XL and two-litre Coke by the case. A few months ago, the whole sale price for XL was $180 and $200, now the cost is $220 one place and $240 and $300 at other places. Before, two-litre coke cost $400, now it has risen to $460 then $500. Even the price for a small bottle oil gone up, the cost for it now is $400, before it was $300. The government should place control prices on items in the market, so the prices for items in the market can reduce.”
Tarmatie Jaikaran
Tarmatie Jaikaran said: “The cost of living in the world in general is high, not Guyana alone. However, this is new to the people in Guyana, since we poor people don’t cope well with the rising cost of living in Guyana. I think the government, need to do something about this high rise in food items because the lower cast of people, can’t afford a pot of food when the day come. The government should place a standard price for importation fees because a lot of people import things in Guyana. Look at how onions are sold, the price is sky high, right now — the price for onions right now is about $300, $400 a pound, before it was $100 and something, the price gone up in the market. Maybe it has to do with the importation fees paid to import it from abroad to Guyana. Another item that is high is oil. A few months ago, I used to pay $2,600 for a gallon bottle of the Canola oil, now that same bottle of oil cost about $4,600. The prices for food items are very high, we need the prices to drop a little more since the pay is not raising. Something need to be done.”
Reya Decamp
Reya Decamp said: “I find that a lot of items raise, not only in the supermarkets but in the market as well. Oil and milk gone up. For instance, couple months ago, I used to buy a big pack of Natura milk for $1,060, now that same big pack milk cost $1,460. A three-litre bottle of oil before cost $1,300, $1,600 a bottle, now that same bottle of oil is $2,300. The money that gives my family a good quantity of items, when we used to shop before at the market, is not enough now for us to go shopping with, the quantity of items received now is less. Every family member now have to go out and work, even the youths because parents can’t afford to feed the family now. The government should look into the supermarket and market prices to see why these prices are so high. They can place control prices on food items so the cost of these items can be reduce.”
Christell Persaud
Christell Persaud said: “Before, people could have afford certain food items, now they can’t afford it. They have to cut back on certain food items. Also, some people don’t have a job to buy food items they need. The main food items that we used on a daily basis the government should reduce the prices on those items. For instance, a few months ago, a small pack of Thunderbolt flour cost $240, now that same pack is $320. Some people can’t buy the three-litre bottle oil like how they used to do, they are now buying the little Soya bottle oil for $760 when it was $360 a bottle before.”
Bibi Baksh
Bibi Baksh, 70-year-old vegetable vendor said: “Vegetables gone up, such as: eggplant, bora; etc. A few month back I used to sell three small eggplant for $200 now I’m selling four small ones for $500…and before I used to sell three big eggplant for $500, now the big ones are sold at $1,000 for four. I think the government should place control prices on basic food items in the market so the cost of these items can be reduced. Some days people can’t afford to buy greens and I would have to try with what little I have, to run my business and feed my family at the same time.”
Maneychand Madai
Maneychand Madai said: “All over the world the cost of living is high, not only Guyana. As a pensioner, the money I’m receiving from the government is not no money because the food items in the market is expensive. For instance, the five-gallon bottle of drinking water used to be $600, now the cost for the same bottle is $660. Even oil expensive, a five-litre bottle oil was $1900, now it cost $3000 for the same bottle of oil. Even a bale of Soft Touch toilet paper is expensive, a couple months ago it was $1,800, now that same bale is $1,900. Things are really hard for people, especially those who have four children because the money we are receiving, it can’t pay the bill. I think the government is helping the people. However, the government should maybe, assist the people to acquire farm lands, so they can plant more, and even place control prices on food items in the market, so the rise in the cost of food items in the market can go down.”
Imran Salim
Imran Salim, a 40-year-old jewelry vendor said: “The cost of living is terribly high in this country, a country that is currently producing oil. The pandemic came on about two years now and we still have to pay our mortgages despite the cost of living rising terribly in the country. We are trying but some days it is really rough on vendors. The government said that the GPL bill has reduced but it doesn’t seem so because I observed that my electricity cost gone up higher, followed by the water bill. Even the cooking oil price gone up higher. I used to give my wife $30,000 a week for groceries for my family, I have 3 children, now I’m giving her $50,000 for groceries and still that’s not doing and that amount includes water and electricity cost. It’s hard for me to find that a week, some days I have to barely squeeze it. I think the government should create more jobs for people, raise the salary more on both private and public sectors and place control prices on food items because people are punishing in the country. They can’t afford groceries because everything gone up.”
