Stabroek News spoke to members of the public in Covent Garden, East Bank Demerara about the rising cost of living and how it is affecting them. The following are their comments:
Interviews and photos by Subhana Shiwmangal
Navindra Mangro
Navindra Mangro, a 20-year-old machine operator said: “The cost of living is not affecting me much because my father and I are not home often, we work offshore. When we are home, we buy food items in and out. Right now, the cost for vegetables is expensive in the market. Even the cost for a water coconut is costly. For example, a water coconut some time last year cost $100; now the water coconut cost close to $300. Then there are plantains, a pound of plantains before cost about $100 and something; now a pound of plantains cost $300 and something. I’m a family of four, including my mother, father and brother and everyone works but even though everyone contributes toward the home, we sometimes find the cost-of-living hard when purchasing food items, but what you gon do about it? You can’t do anything. You just have to cope with the cost of living. The government should reach out more with the farmers and vendors to come up with solution to have the cost for food items reduce.”