Stabroek News spoke to members of the public in the areas of Amelia’s Ward and Mackenzie in Linden, Region Ten about the rising cost of living and how it is affecting them. The following are their comments:
Interviews and photos by Subhana Shiwmangal
Collin Reynolds, a 52-year-old construction worker said: “Everything is expensive in the market and this is affecting me a lot because I’m spending more than I’m saving. When I go to the grocery shop, I suppose to be able to shop while still being able to save money. Now my money finishes fast when I buy two black bags of items and I don’t get everything I need. A small sack of Karibee rice cost $2,000 now; before the same sack of rice cost $1,700. Everything expensive, even construction materials expensive. For instance the prices for stones and cement to build buildings are not sold at a stable price, hence it’s difficult to do estimates for customers. A ton of stones cost $14,500/$15,000 now; before the cost was $12,000. Another thing, people are not getting jobs and this is affecting people since everything is high in the market. I think the government should continue doing what they are doing with the infrastructure work but they should increase people’s salary. Once the government can balance the scale of salary, people will be able to save when they come from the store. I think the government should implement price control on items so sellers won’t continuously raise their price for items in the store/market.”
