This week, Stabroek News spoke to members of the public in Canal Number Two, West Bank Demerara in Region Three about the rising cost of living and how it is affecting them. The following are their comments:
Nafeeza Majid
Nafeeza Majid, a 49-year-old single parent said: “The rising cost of living is hard for me and my family. In Canal Number Two we do lots of farming but the flooding affects everyone’s crops. Everything gone up in Guyana – goods, greens, for example the big bottle Canola oil used to cost $5,000, now that same bottle oil cost $6,000; everything gone up. The packet Thunderbolt flour that used to sell for $300 a few months ago is now $500. As a single parent, seeing that everything gone up, the transportation cost to send my child to secondary school every day is expensive. It cost $2,000 and not forgetting the other expenses needed to do her assignments and pay for her lesson fees. The father supports us when he wants to, my mother lives with us and she receives her pension. I don’t have any sort of income to provide for my daughter. This is really hard on me, especially when everything in the market is expensive. Right now I’m trying to get a work, I put in for the part-time work the ministry is offering but until now, it’s like three quarter into the month since I applied for the work and still haven’t received any response from the ministry. I would like if the government can provide assistance for my child while attending school. It is not easy on me, I’m also sick too and when the father feels like giving money towards his child’s future, he give.”
Vanita Persaud
Vanita Persaud said: “I find that if you’re planting vegetables to sell back, it’s cheaper but if you are buying from someone to sell back that can be expensive for both the customers and the vendor. Certain things such as vegetables have gone down while groceries is expensive. I recall that for the past few months ago, one boulanger cost $100, now boulanger is cheaper – you can get 4 for $200/$300. Another vegetable is cabbage, before cabbage was expensive, now the cost is $300 for 2 pounds. Until now the groceries are expensive. I think the government should do something about lowering the cost on groceries in the market.”
Devika Ramatar
Devika Ramatar said: “My family have a shop and we find when we purchase to sell back directly from the van in our area, we get things cheaper. However, when we purchase items from the market to sell back, we find that things are sold expensive. The cost of living is still high for us and for the consumers who are the end users of the products. The big bag Karibee rice, for example, cost $16,000 now, before it was sold for $13,000. Even the big pack Thunderbolt flour we purchase to sell back is expensive, now it cost $400, before it was sold for about $280. The government should look into the rise of prices for items in the market, especially for small businesses.”
Devika Singh
Devika Singh said: “Everything gone up in the market such as groceries, greens and ground provisions. Many times I tried to apply for public assistance but I’m not getting through. I’m sick and I’m not working so when I have to buy medication for myself, I can’t afford it. Also, I can’t even afford to buy food items. The food items I find is very expensive. I really would like the government to provide some sort of public assistance for me. I really need help because some days I don’t have food to eat.”
Indra
Indra said: “Right now if you don’t have education and you are sick, you can’t get a job. Another thing is, my husband is working as a watchman at a school in Canal Number Two and the government is paying him $50,000 per month. Until now, he’s receiving that salary and that can’t do for his family. The government raise the cleaners’ salary to $80,000 per month. What happen to the watchman’s salary? They would normally watch the schools overnight. You tell me, if the water bill and light bill cost about $25,000 a month, plus a bottle of gas, the total cost alone would sum up to about $30,000. Cooking gas expensive now, gas cost about $4,700 now, before the price was $4,200. I had to start working part time with the government to help my family run the business because his money is not enough to support his family. Even that is not enough because the cost for items in the market is expensive. I see that the oil price is down a little but toilet paper is expensive. A bale of toilet paper cost about $4,000 now, before it was $2,500. I think the government should raise all the watchmans’ pay because the cost of living is high.”
Bibi Ali
Bibi Ali said: “ The cost of living is very expensive. However, not everything has gone up; mostly equipment, fertilisers and house material gone up. For example, a sling of cement a few months ago cost about $35,000, now that same sling cost about $65,000. Fertiliser all gone up now. The cost for a bag of fertiliser is $5,000, before it was about $4,000. Another thing is that in Canal Number Two, we do a lot of planting and when we have flooding, everything is cleared out because the farm lands are flooded. I think the government should drop the prices on farming equipment and house materials.”
Rawattie Vishnu
Rawattie Vishnu, a 29-year-old housewife said: “The cost of living is very expensive on farming equipment and house materials. Before the cost of living was affordable and now the cost of living gone up so high that people can’t afford certain things. When I go and buy goods in the market, everyday something rising. Now a big pack of Demerara Gold sugar cost about $960, before that same big pack cost about $500. Look at sand, a load of sand now cost about $30,000, before the price was $12,000. I think the government should work towards lowering the cost on house materials and groceries items.”
Nandall Naidal
Nandall Naidal said: “Everyday prices in the market going up. I’m not working at the moment due to a fracture hand and I can’t afford to buy greens and groceries in the market at the moment. I find that certain things are expensive in the market. Another thing is the flooding in Canal Number Two, it is really bad because farmers end up losing their crops that they planted for their living. I see that some items such as bora, boulanger – is cheap in the market. However, celery is really expensive now, before the price per pound of celery was $300, now the cost is $500. Even pepper gone up in the market, a pound of pepper now is $800, before that same pound was $200. I must say though that the president and his government is doing so good. But, I’m living alone and my groceries is going to run out soon because I’m not working. I will like if the government can assist me to buy things to maintain myself in the meantime. The cost of living is high.”
Khemraj Mathura
Khemraj Mathura, a 40-year-old farmer said: “The cost of living is really high because everything raise in the market. I see oil drop back a little. The price for a 5-gallon bottle oil dropped down a little, which is good but the price is still high. The same bottle oil now is $8,000, a few month back it was $12,000 and before that it was about $5,300. Actually everything getting expensive. Even cooking oil gone up, a small 20-pound cooking gas now cost $4,500, before it was $3,600. I’m going to use two pieces of wood to cook a meal for my family because cooking gas get expensive now. As a fruits and livestock farmer, when I get the flooding, the flood cause the crops to die. When NAREI visited my home in January of this year, they took note of what happened and they give me 18 pounds of manure for my plants. The amount can’t even do for the amount of plants that I have. As a livestock farmer, the cost per duckling now is $260, I’m seeing NAREI have that for $100. NAREI not checking this out in providing us with ducklings. They said so long they coming and never come. Anyway, for the manure, I’m buying a big bag manure for $12,000 even though it is expensive. We, the farmers, would glad if the government can support us in our farming here, because when the flood comes, we can’t do anything. Even the water system slow. I pay the water bills and I’m not getting the flow of water like how I should. Also, my farming activities slow up ever since the Wales Estate closed down because I used to supply sugarcane there, now I don’t plant sugarcane like how I used to. The government is doing well for other regions but they need to come here and check out the place. I’m seeing that the foreign investors are getting everything. The government should do something about our local workers too, they need work too.”
Kurt Solomon
Kurt Solomon said: “Everything expensive in the market. I have to work really hard to provide groceries for my family. You can’t say you’re staying home for two days. Sometimes, you don’t have things to eat in the home and you have to cope with it. I have two children and I’m finding it hard to keep up with the rising cost of living. Look at how a small pack of Demerara Gold sugar cost now, it cost about $460, before it was $260. Also, the price for a 1 litre bottle Soya oil a few month ago was $260, now that same oil cost $460. I think the government should help out the poor people.”
Dextroy Connell
Dextroy Connell, shop owner said: “ I have been operating a shop for 16 years and I had a rise and fall in business after COVID. It was rumoured that the war in Russia was causing businesses to slow down. As a shop owner, I feel it for consumers, especially the single parents. You can tell when they can’t afford things, so I would itemise the items to suit their pockets. And, sometimes, I would just give them the product. However, after consumer would go to the market and see how everything, down to the greens have risen, they would see it’s not the shop’s fault and they came right back at the shop to purchase. Well, I have seen that things such as cheese, milk, oil, greens drop in the market, which is good. What I think the government should do though, is to look into the rise in prices of more food items and see if they can do anything to lower the prices. I must say that certain things are still expensive, such as: chicken, sausages and eggs. The government should look into this because I know a pound of chicken was $200 before, now chicken price is $400 per pound.”
