Dear Editor,
Many thought the discovery of oil in Guyana would be a blessing, but monitoring the situation in Guyana, many are of the opinion it comes with a curse. Meanwhile, the cost of living is slowly creeping up with no viable solution materializing to cushion the effect. Government seems to conveniently formulate schemes to give a few chosen ones money in order to calm them down. Most of the responsible authorities within governmental and non-governmental organisations seem to be operating effectively as if Guyanese are enjoying the benefits from oil.
Editor, we’ve seen a surge of supermarkets, majority owned by Chinese Nationals, and lots of people prefer frequenting them, instead of the customary shops existing within their respective communities, mostly because of the prices, the wide availability of products and also because they get the chance select the products of their choice. Over the years, I’ve frequented many and had cause to pen my opinion after discovering wrong weights, inferior, expired and tampered products. To date, chicanery still continues in many stores. I’ve also noticed that most have an effective cashing out system but lots of them fail to produce receipts upon completion of transactions.
Now quite a few have been complaining and whilst the suspicion is there, it’s time people take time out from their distractions and carefully study when conducting business, especially at supermarkets. Most shoppers would produce their products, and wouldn’t monitor what is being inputted into the electronic cash register, and pay the total. The views circulating is that whilst the shelves have one price, the cashier could shrewdly input a different price, or input a selected item twice whilst only receiving one. Guyanese have lost that interest of double checking their receipt with their items, but of recent, many who spoke of their suspicions, indicate they would be getting back to basics and restart doing that.
Whilst it might not looks like much, even if you’re being cheated of a two hundred dollars, it would accumulate to a lot when the same shenigians are committed against a few other per day. Finally Editor, we are witnessing a constant shortage of building materials, due to the increase of constructions and repairs. In addition, contractors, skilled, semi-skilled and labourers’ day pay has increased, some contractors charging between 15-20 thousand dollars a day, labourers getting between 7-10 thousand dollars a day. Because of the shortage, (most seem deliberate, in order to add an increase) the contractors would take the buyer to particular places to make purchases and secretly receive a drawback/commission from the store. It’s the saying ‘no tricks, no living’, but the most ironic part is that whilst the construction workers would be charging an exorbitant amount to work for the average man, most go and work for construction companies for less than half of what they are charging the average man, who sometimes might be working for a fraction of what they are charging. Meanwhile, oil is still being exported and only a selected few benefitting in Guyana.
Sincerely,
Sahadeo Bates
