The A Partnership of National Unity and Alliance for Change (APNU+AFC) parliamentary coalition has not only rejected President Irfaan Ali’s promise to bring cost of living relief to the nation, but blasted his Government for being clueless about the everyday struggle of Guyanese.
2023 Guyanese saw spiralling price increase for basic food items such as sugar, milk, oil, meat and vegetables
In a press statement, the Opposition said while the Government “has been deaf to this suffering, Guyanese have endured wave after wave of high inflation numbers,” pointing out that “since 2020, prices for food have surpassed 50%.”
Referring to the situation as the worst cost of living crisis in living memory, the APNU+AFC said the People’s Progressive Party (PPP) Government repeatedly, only budgeted $5 billion for direct cost of living mitigation and relief.
“This was less than 1% of the total for two of the largest budgets in the country’s history,” the Opposition charged.
And in reiterating the call for policy prescriptions to address citizens suffering and combat spiralling inflation, the APNU+AFC has proposed the following measures:-
1. The equitable distribution of the $60 billion oil revenue windfall received in 2022.
2. The payment to public servants of a livable income that is also well above the rate of inflation.
3. The abolition of income tax for workers in the low to middle wages and salaries brackets to increase the disposable income available to both public and private sector employees.
4. Grants to allow farmers and other small businesses to purchase equipment and thereby lower production costs.
5. The provision of two hot meals a day to all school children to reduce the financial difficulties faced by parents.
6. Develop a school transportation system to get our children to school free of cost.
7. The removal of all bureaucratic red tape and other hindrances, to boost the production and supply of goods and services
The full statement follows:-
THE PPP’S COST OF LIVING RELIEF MEASURES ARE AS EMPTY AS KITCHEN CUPBOARDS ACROSS GUYANA
The President’s belated New Year promise of additional cost of living relief reflects just how clueless the PPP is about the everyday struggle of Guyanese. We in the Opposition have been calling for a far more robust response to the cost-of-living crisis for nearly two years. While the PPP has been deaf to this suffering, Guyanese have endured wave after wave of high inflation numbers. Since 2020, prices for food have surpassed 50%.
During what is the worst cost of living crisis in living memory, the PPP repeatedly, only budgeted $5 billion dollars for direct cost of living mitigation and relief. This was less than 1% of the total for two of the largest budgets in the country’s history.
Even further, we must remind Guyanese that in 2022, Guyana earned an unexpected $60 billion GYD from the exceptionally high oil price. It is difficult for citizens to hold any hope of relief since with all of these resources the PPP does not appreciate the importance of a robust, comprehensive slate of measures to ease this cost-of-living crisis.
Apart from their heartless attitude, what has also become abundantly clear is that the PPP is totally bankrupt of ideas to address such inflation. Last year they did not spend the $5 billion they had allocated for cost-of-living relief almost all year. Belatedly, at the close of 2023, they announced a few limited measures, which came far too late and were inadequate. That the PPP cannot work out how to make use of money that they themselves set aside is as damning an indictment as any.
Stabroek News put it well in its first editorial for the new year: “This government has been content to make a handout here and there in a manner that makes it look as if it is doing a favor for people whereas its task is to administer the funds coming into this country in a manner that is equitable and fair to all sections of the country.” The PPP has failed to improve the quality of life of the people of Guyana. The PPP’s only interest is in their elite, friends, family and favorites. The average Guyanese citizen has been left to fend for his or her self, while the government spends hundreds of billions of dollars with abandon.
We reiterate that serious efforts must be made to combat the spiraling inflation that faces us today. These measures must include:
1. The equitable distribution of the $60 billion oil revenue windfall received in 2022.
2. The payment to public servants of a livable income that is also well above the rate of inflation.
3. The abolition of income tax for workers in the low to middle wages and salaries brackets to increase the disposable income available to both public and private sector employees.
4. Grants to allow farmers and other small businesses to purchase equipment and thereby lower production costs.
5. The provision of two hot meals a day to all school children to reduce the financial difficulties faced by parents.
6. Develop a school transportation system to get our children to school free of cost.
7. The removal of all bureaucratic red tape and other hindrances, to boost the production and supply of goods and services.
These represent only a few measures that the coalition government will take. We urge the government to implement them since it will help to significantly improve the lives of average Guyanese. We call on the PPP to put partisan politics aside and adopt them. Inflation, after all, knows no ethnicity, no religion and certainly no political affiliation.
Finally, as we look toward this year’s national budget, it is necessary to highlight that according to the IMF’s measures of income per capita at purchasing power parity, Guyana will likely this year be among the top five nations worldwide. There can be no excuse for hunger and want in a nation this rich. It is the government’s poor allocation of resources that is stifling our economy and people. Sadly, that is all Guyanese have come to expect from the PPP.
