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Pres. Ali urges fuel importers, transport operators to slash profits
(Kaieteur News) – President Irfaan Ali on Tuesday urged fuel importers and public transport providers to slash their profits in wake of the drastic increase in cost of commodities across sectors due to the ongoing U.S./Iran war.
In a video posted on his official Facebook page, President Ali reminded that the Government of Guyana has taken many measures to help offset the inflationary prices and changes in its national market impact. However, he believes that to adequately address the international pressures and the rising cost of refined products, government and all stakeholders must work hand-in-hand.
President Irfaan Ali
“You will recall that the Government of Guyana removed the Excise Tax on imported products, refined products to zero. That would have meant that over the years all those who consume refined products, whether it’s the hire car, the speedboat operators, the minibuses, the private cars, whoever consumed these products…that the government would have taken up that cost, which amounts to about over $100 billion Guyana dollars annually,” the president said.
President Ali said that while the government has invested hundreds of billions of dollars annually to stave off any inflationary pressure at the pump and ensure that the prices remain stable, the consumers must benefit from a corresponding reduction.
“We did not see any corresponding reduction in taxi fares…We did not see corresponding reduction in the transportation costs. Now, in any society where this cost is absorbed, then there must be consequential benefits that go to the consumer further, and of course, the farmers and everyone who have benefited from this,” he added.
The President explained that internationally, when countries are faced with challenges, it requires action from both the private sector and the public sector. The President stressed that the entire globe is affected by a period of volatility.
“In this period of volatility, for us to address this as a country, as a system, and not adjust fares to the extent that it erodes consumers’ confidence and it adds pressure on the consuming public,” he said.
The Head-of-State lamented that the government has followed international trends as it relates to implementing price control measures and taken measures to ensure that Excise Tax went to zero.
“What that did is that it gives us now no room to adjust the excise tax, and now that the price has increased at the national market, we are asking those, all the stakeholders who would have benefited from the 0% excise tax to be nationalistic in their approach. So, we expect that all of the operators will reduce their profit lines, so as to mitigate that impact, and also for us to, for the suppliers of public transportation to be socially responsible during this period…”
In the future, the President said Guyana will be looking to secure its fuel supply by actively engaging partners who want to invest in a refinery.
“We can have more price stability, given the fact that we are also producing our own crude, so I just wanted to say that these are some of the options available to us that we are also working closely within addressing future challenges like this,” he stated.
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