Interviews and photos by Subhana Shiwmangal
Stabroek News spoke to members of the public in Mahaica, East Coast Demerara in Region Four about the rising cost of living and how it is affecting them.
The following are their comments:
Phillip Mohabir
Phillip Mohabir, 53-year-old bus driver said: “Majority of things expen-sive. Is the market items, everything in the super-market rise, from ciga-rettes right down to salt expensive; cooking oil right up; rice, flour, sugar – everything gone up. A lot of people can’t survive because of the rising cost of living and the money is not rising. The money staying one way and when people ah fuh go and buy a pound of pepper, they have to buy half pound instead; things expensive bad in the market. For example, a few months ago, I used to pay $300 and something for four pounds sugar, now me ah buy sugar fuh $800 for four pounds. Well greens, every day that goes up; today you might go to the market and buy two parcels of callaloo for $500, tomorrow you might get one for $500, before I used to get like 3 parcels of callaloo for $200 cause me does fetch greens in the night so I know what goes on. I think if the govern-ment get the manure price to drop, the greens price will drop. I’m not saying it is the government fault, but the manure price has to drop, the government must get some say in getting the manure price to drop. If the manure price drop, things will be well!”
David Grundall
David Grundall said: “Milk gone up a lot, a small pack of Kerrygold full cream powder is sold in the marketplace for $900 and sometime a few months ago the cost was $700, all of the milk gone up in the market. Actually every-thing gone up like soap powder, chicken and so on. Chicken price right now fluctuates, different places you buy it you get different prices. A few months ago, a pound of chicken was like $360-$400, now a pound of chicken is $480. This is affecting me tremen-dously because every week I have to find more money to maintain the family. Even greens gone up, now three boulanger is for $500, before it was cheaper, now a pound of plantain is $250 – before I used to pay $200 a pound, well it depends on how the price for plantain fluctuates every week. Even sweet potatoes prices high and it fluctuates every week. The government should place some sort of price con-trol especially on basic com-modities like milk because we are just spending more money and receiving less items for our money… Another thing is the government taking off a lot of taxes and it is not getting down to the consumers because of this, the business men knows that there is no price control on certain items so they continue to raise the prices for the items on the market and we can’t afford to buy these items since our income cannot match the rise in these items on the market.”
Ramesh Gobin
Ramesh Gobin, 59-year-old clothes vendor said: “Well you see I deal with clothing and right now clothing gone right down; only when somebody wants something then they come. Since these Chinese stores open in Georgetown, we are facing really hard times. I’m paying $5,000 to rent my stall and that too, we can’t pay in full sometimes. Last Saturday, look, I only made $1,200 for that day. Business is not like before, it slow up now, although we may buy things to stock up. Things all gone up in the marketplace everywhere. The rising cost of living is really hard, especially when you have to pay bills and assist your family financially. When you look at the country producing oil, you wonder why we are in this situation. Even greens gone sky high, one root of packchoy now cost $500 and $300 sometimes, a few months ago you could get four/five roots of packchoy for $200. Now I’m getting three/four small boulanger for $500, before it was six/seven boulanger for $200; even tomatoes gone up. I think the government should really look into the poorer class of people because some people are in poverty stage; husband just working, wife have five or six children and they can barely make it to provide for their family. The govern-ment should really look into this. I mean the president is doing a lot of things like building roads and helping a lot of people, but still he should help the poorer class of people. The government should provide more lights in the Mahaica market because when the rain falls the market is dark and if you look at the fuse box, it deh like nobody cares. The minister when he visited the market last time, vendors talk to them about this issue and it’s just like they popped in and popped back out: everything remain the same.”
Doodnauth Ramlakan
Doodnauth Ramlakan, 38-year-old farmer and gardener said: “The cost of living is quite high because the cooking oil and fuel is high. I would have to cut short on certain food to provide for my family. In the market groceries and everything is high. A few months ago a bag of Urea fertilizer was sold for $4,500 and $5,000, now that same bag of fertilizer cost $8,500. Even the PSP fertilizers cost is high. Right now the cost is $12,000, before it was $10, 500 for a
bag of Plant Stimulating Peptides fertilizer. The fuel gone up to like $1,000 a gallon for gasoline, before the same gallon was $700/$800. I’m finding that I’m spending more and getting less for the items in the market since things are expensive. This is affecting me because I have to give more money towards the home. I think the government should do something about the rising prices in the market.”
Bhudni Persaud
Bhudni Persaud, 54-year-old farmer said: “Well the cost of living is really high because nobody is not looking after the welfare of the rice industry for farmers. The rice millers making all the money on the rice not the farmers and things are hard for the farmers despite the two dollars more given on the rice. Like the Minister of Agriculture is only looking after other things rather than looking after rice? The rice industry is very useful to people and this country. As a rice farmer, the backdam is very bad where I plant my rice and look how many weeks the weather was dry, the government could have assisted the farmers with building the dam for rice farmers. It’s not useful for them to do it now because the rain is falling. I have other crops grown at the backdam and my coconut, all is spoiling because the backdam is really bad and this is preventing farmers from bringing out their produce to sell. I had to eventually invest in a boat to have labourer go to the backdam with fertilizers and so on for the crop; the punishment is terrible. Things all gone up in the marketplace. For instance, a big bag of rice now is about $9, 000. I had to switch and buy the small handbag rice at a cost of $2,500. Is everybody feeling the rise in prices in the market since we are buying less with more money. Saturday I paid $100 for a boulanger, a small piece of pumpkin is $300 now; even packchoy, sweet potatoes all gone up… I can’t buy that… Things in Mahaica really expensive, even the drugs to spray the rice expensive. The government should look into the high prices in… fuel and fertilizers so we farmers can plant rice.”
Princo Harrinarine
Princo Harrinarine, 54-year-old vegetable farmer said: “The cost of living is a little high since sometimes I would find it a little hard because some items like pepper gone up while some items, gone down a little. I would buy pepper at $500 a pound and sell back at a cost of $700 a pound. Before, I used to sell a pound of pepper for $300 and $400. This is affecting me mostly when buying groceries since as a farmer I produce most of the greens but the groceries, I’m paying more for it and receiving less items for my money. I’m not saving nothing much like before. For instance, four pounds sugar now is $500, before it was $360. I think the government should look in to this and see how they can help the vendors or the Mahaica people out.”
Abeena Jones
Abeena Jones, 22-year-old food and nutrition student said: “The cost of living has risen tremen-dously, especially in the countryside for us. Mostly our diet supposed to be wheat, rice and so on but for me, I’m a flour person and my daily diet is cereal and so on. However, flour has raise tremendously. For instance, a pound of flour now is $300 and something and before it was $200 and something…then there is oil, before a 1 litre bottle oil was $600 and something, now the cost of the same bottle of oil is $900 and some and $760. I find I’m spending more money and getting less for my money. Now I can’t go to the market with $5000, I have to go with more money. The government should lower the prices of these items and lower the taxes on these items in the marketplace.”
Amisha Sawh
Amisha Sawh said: “Plantains gone up, oil gone up; everything gone up. For instance, a few months ago a 1 litre bottle oil was $360, now the same bottle of oil cost $860. Another thing is that Guyana produces plantains, now plantain is $300 a pound and before it was $100 a pound. This has risen tremendously and I find that I’m spending more and saving less. The government should deduct the prices on local stuff and they can put on prices on the overseas stuff.”
Charles Pharmeshwar
Charles Pharmeshwar, 36-year-old tailor said: “The rising cost of living is very difficult for everyone because the salary is not enough for the family, especially for me as a tailor. The government should create more employment so everyone could get a better job and a better salary. What I’m seeing is that we, Guyanese are only getting part of the contract by the government, like they put us aside and the foreigners are getting most of the contract. It’s not a problem the foreigners coming and invest in Guyana but they have to include us too because all of us are Guyanese. If you look at a tailor income, we make our money in sewing uniforms for schoolchildren and after that business slows up for us. Also, we should produce more in Guyana, what I’m seeing is that Guyanese don’t want to work in Guyana they want to work outside of the country. I think the rising cost of living contributes to that too. I think the government should give us loans and advertise better jobs for us to get a better salary because most of our young people are working and studying, and if they get better opportunities in terms of a better paying jobs, they would not have to migrate to another country for better opportunities. The cost of living is really high since a bag of rice now is really expensive…five years back a 10kg rice was $800, $900 and a $1,000, now a 10kg bag of rice cost $2,000. Well, a pound of milk gone up now to $400, before it was cheaper…even oil gone up; everything raise. The government should give the people more investment/ opportunity in Guyana so we, the tailors, especially can receive better income.”
Omadevi Kowlessar
Omadevi Kowlessar, 20-year-old cosmetologist said: “Most of the times you can’t afford to buy things because business is slow. I find that I’m saving less because things gone up in the market like cooking oil…right now a 1 litre oil cost $700 and something, before that same bottle of oil cost $500 and something. Even sugar gone up cause right now a pound of sugar cost $400 and some and before the price for sugar was $320 and suh. I think the government should increase the value of the currency so we, the people can buy more stuff.”
Shonel Bharat
Shonel Bharat, 25-year-old clothes vendor said: “Everything gone up in the market, nothing isn’t cheap in the market. A 1 litre bottle of cooking oil now cost $760, a few months the bottle oil cost $460. Even sugar gone up, a pound of sugar now is $460 and $560, before it was $100 and $60 a pound, then flour all gone up to $300 for two pounds. This is really affecting me because the workers’ pay is not raising but everything else rising and by the time I have the money, I have to spend it to buy groceries, it’s really hard for me as a single parent. The government should look into the rise in these items in the market and to raise workers’ pay.”
Abhimanan Indramatie
Abhimanan Indramatie, 61-year-old vegetable vendor Said: “We, the vendors pay our rent to sell in the Mahaica market and when the rain falls, we are left to sell in slush, the government is not doing anything about this. Also, right now everything expensive, I’m buying a bag of boulanger for $18,000 and before I used to purchase a bag of boulanger for $8,000, $6000 and $10,000. Now I’m selling three boulanger for $500 and before I used to sell it for three and four for $200. Boulanger is expensive to sell now; everything gone up. Even provision and suh gone up. A pound of plantain now is $300, before it was $100 a pound. I’m trying with the rising cost
of living because it is indeed affecting me a lot because I find that I’m saving less now. In the groceries store I saw that one and two items gone down but the other items are still high. We need the government to build the market better for us to sell. I can’t say what the government can do to prevent the rise in these items in the market because they have no control over that, however, the vendors need the government to continue to build the market so vendors can sell in the market.”
Poosha Nandan
Poosha Nandan said: “Well everything has gone up right now like oil, rice, etc. I find that the salaries are not raising but the items in the market are and this is affecting me and family since we are spending more and saving less. The cost of a three-litre bottle oil now is $2,500, before it was $1,960. A small bag rice now gone up to $2,200, a few months ago it was $2000. The government should do something about this because everything has gone up in the market.”
