It is time our Govt. takes control of food prices

Jan 31, 2022 Letters

Dear Editor,
The PPP/C government has opted (in part) to take the advice of the Opposition to increase pensioners’ allowance. The paltry $3000 and $2000 a month increase to old age pensioners and Public Assistants respectively, would not alleviate the burden of the recent rise in the cost-of-living that the poor and destitute in Guyana suffers – a problematic situation our Finance Minister surely must be acutely aware of.
Almost half (47.5 percent) of Guyana’s children under the age of 16 live in families that are in poverty. This reflects poorly on our Government as it is both an economic and social tragedy. Research shows, children in poverty have poor health and less likely to perform well in school, acquire a good formal education, find and keep good-paying jobs and contribute to the economy than their counterparts with financially better-off families.
People living in poverty simply do not have sufficient income to pay for enough food to meet the daily caloric and nutritional needs for proper nourishment and healthy, productive lives. Yet our Government’s only concern is about pensioners when the real problem lies with parents, whether single or married, who have young children. Children should be our prime concern – they are the future of Guyana. For too long the poor in Guyana have been suffering in silence – too embarrassed to speak out. With the discovery of so much oil in Guyana there is no reason why anyone, especially children, should not be having daily nutritional meals.
The time has come for the PPP/C Government to halt the 14 percent VAT on all basic ‘food items’ like milk, cheese, flour, etc. Importers should be allowed only 4 percent increase on the imported cost and retailers 6 percent increase on the purchase price which would cover transportation and other local expenses. This will go a long way in helping Guyana’s already poor and needy.
It is time for our Government to take control of food prices to stop the greedy merchants from overpricing their goods so that every child in Guyana would be properly nourished and have the same opportunities as every other child.

Sincerely,
Gloria Holder

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