Opposition flays Govt for burdensome cost of living

The A Partnership of National Unity and Alliance for Change (APNU+AFC) is again raising its voice about the high cost of living and the failure of the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) government to put relief measures in place to alleviate the economic burden on the ordinary man. Citing Stabroek News’ feature on the cost-of-living the Opposition says similar stories reverberate throughout.

According to the APNU+AFC leaders in their walkabout they found many households in financial desperation and in deeper poverty, resulting from the sudden economic crises or shocks, such as the death of a breadwinner, loss of employment, breadwinner becoming a pensioner, high medical expenses, floods and droughts, and other calamities. The Opposition also alludes to the fact that many Guyanese rely on the economic support from overseas loved ones.

A recent World Bank Report stated approximately half the society is poor and lives on less than US$ 5.50 per day. Guyana is ranked the world’s fastest growing economy, with the highest GDP per capita. Guyana’s 2024 Budget which is $1.146 trillion is not only the largest in the country’s history but larger than all previous budgets combined. This year Guyana is expected to earn no less than US$2.8billion from oil and gas.

See the Opposition’s full statement

THE COMPLAINTS OF CITIZENS EXPRESSED IN STABROEK NEWS COST-OF-LIVING SERIES ECHO THOSE WE HAVE BEEN HEARING ON OUR OUTREACHES

We wish to commend the Stabroek News for its weekly Cost-of-Living series, in which it solicits the views of ordinary Guyanese from across the country on their life struggles. What many interviewees have been saying to the newspaper, in our community outreach across the country, have been hearing the said sentiments. In many households, we have noted several dire situations. For example:

1)    Several households must depend on family members living outside the households for regular financial support. Married children outside the household, for instance, still have to support their parents and unmarried siblings.

2)   Even though some households have more than one breadwinner, they still struggle to make ends meet. This fact points to the low wages and salaries and to the related existence of a large mass of working poor in Guyana.

3)   Economic insecurity is rampant. Many households find themselves in financial desperation and deeper poverty when they experience sudden economic crises or shocks, such as the death of a breadwinner, loss of employment, breadwinner becoming a pensioner, high medical expenses, floods and droughts, and other calamities.

4)   We note that many persons’ must employ coping mechanisms to combat the high cost of living, such as less food consumption, and little or no expenditure on clothes and such items. Even local fruits are now considered luxury items and cannot be afforded by many families.

5)   Personal saving accounts are non-existent for many individuals and households.

6)   Most families have no faith and hope that their circumstances can change under the current government even though we are an oil producing nation.

We have pledged that, as the next government, we will urgently commission a Living Standards Survey to fully assess the living conditions of Guyanese households. However, we will not await the results of this survey to implement several measures in the first 100 days in office to better the lives of Guyanese. We will, for example, significantly increase salaries and pensions, abolish personal income taxes for low to medium-income earners, and increase cash grants and vouchers. By the end of our first term in office, poverty, economic insecurity, and high living costs would be significantly reduced. This is part of our Contract with Guyana.