Part 114
Interviews and photos by Tafari Codogan and Mia Anthony
Stabroek News spoke to members of the public in South Ruimveldt, Georgetown about the rising cost of living and how it is affecting them. The following are their comments:
Rocky Gravesande said “Presently I’m a small business owner working along with my father since he’s short of staff. I’m a father of three and married and at the moment you know it’s January month you could give or take we’ll have to see what we could do later down in the year. Presently, in between some things are high and others you can get at a regular price. Presently I spend more than I gain from work, because I have three kids that are in school that I have to sustain as well as my wife. So basically I’m just trying to get by. I have a fish and chips food business and when everything goes up very rarely the prices come back down. For instance chicken raised from $380 a pound now it’s $500 a pound and the price ain’t drop back up to now. When I first started my business I used to pay like $1,400 for a pack of chips at the Chinese supermarket now it costs $1,900 for the same pack. I think they should lower prices on some of these items.”
Rinette Benjamin
Rinette Benjamin, a 33-year-old shopkeeper said: “Well to be honest, cost of living is high. It’s very high. Look, I’m working in this shop, it’s my mom’s shop. I work here for a salary and I sit here from 6 in the morning to 9 in the night but nobody comes here. Cost of living is high, the place is dead and business is really slow. I’m a mom of four and have to take care of them. Before a bag of potatoes would’ve cost you $4,500 now that same bag is $6,800; a pound of chicken used to cost $460 now it costs $560. I think the government should hurry up with the cash grants, it’s taking too long and each person should get $200,000 instead of $100,000. Look how long I signed up for this money and up to now we can’t get it. I think they should give small shop owners a small grant.”
Warren London
Warren London said: “I working two jobs plus I’m a pensioner, so I does take care of myself. I have my kids and they’re older so they’re working. Some items are expensive now, like oil used to be $360 now it’s $480 and the Bakewell bread used to be $340 and now its $480.”
Kevin Handley
Kevin Handley said: “Cost of living is really high these days. I’m a painter and when my bills coming, my bills coming for $65,000. Light bill coming very high, we’re not using high amount of light. I’m working for $30,000 a week and I does have to invest $25,000. I purchase a bag of rice, the big one I used to pay $8,000, now it’s $13,000. It’s ridiculous. The government needs to look at these things because we’re producing some of these things. The prices shouldn’t be so high. It’s very hard. I got my family and my kids; it’s very hard you know.”
Cordelle Booker
Twenty-seven-year-old Cordelle Booker said: “The cost of living is the outmost highest I’ve seen it in years and that’s saying something. Since I’ve been employed, cost of living has been killing people, not literally, just using a figure of speech. The more your salaries raise the more the cost of living going up. They need to have price control because it’s concerning. Right now sugar is expensive before I could’ve gotten a pound of sugar for $160 now it’s about $360 for a pound. My mom sells chicken and she tells me everything just going up so she had to raise her prices to make a living and get a profit.”
Rudolph Gravesande
Rudolph Gravesande, a dog food salesman said: “I’m trying to survive with it, you know, but it’s kind of hard for me to pay workers and to accumulate a little money for myself. It’s tough. I spend approximately $75,000 per day to operate my business and clear around $115,000, making about $30,000 in daily profit. The high taxes is cutting into my earnings. Taxes need to be dropped.”
Carl Rodriguez
Carl Rodriguez said: “I am a father of six and I am frustrated over the rising costs of basic necessities. I now have to work two jobs just to support my family. My wife is blind so it is more difficult for me. Every time the government comes and sends an increase, we see it in the cost of living. Every day you go to the market, things are rising. You go to the supermarket, things are rising. We spend more than $100,000 every month on food and the
government could do more to help people out. A father of six doing two jobs is still not making ends meet because everything is left on me.”
Quincy McAdams
Quincy McAdams, a 70-year-old pensioner said: “My income is not much and then the price in the market and supermarket going up and down and it is hard for people like me to survive.
The cost of living affects me very much as a senior citizen. Sometimes I go to the market, buy one thing for one price, and go back, and it’s a different price. The government needs stronger regulations against price gouging.
There should be a watchdog to monitor prices. There should be increase in the salary across both the public and private sectors. The government gives $100,000, but that’s only $500 in US dollars. It’s not enough.”
Dwain Bowen
Dwain Bowen a taxi driver said: “It cost between $200,000 and $300,000 per month to sustain my household and transportation expenses is contributing significantly to this burden.
The cost of living is pretty expensive. Everything is going up, and the little money you have is basically nothing after paying bills.”
Paul D’Andrade, a 52-year-old businessman and auto mechanic said: “I believe the people who come to live here and the oil boom as contributing factors to the rising cost of living.
More people are coming into the country, and the little that we grow here now has to do for much more, which is causing prices to go up.
Then the cost of electricity is high even though there are some subsidies, bills remain high. Electricity bills are very, very high.
And then there is multiple taxes imposed on citizens. It’s not just one tax you pay. You pay many different taxes.”
