Interviews and photos by Bebi Oosman
Steve Samaroo, who rides and sell beverages, said: “Cost of living going up and salary instead of it increasing it decreasing so you know. I living bachelor and I still finding it hard because the grocery price does fluctuate nuff and go up and down all the time; depends how them grocer buy it and the price of gas and everything. I believe whoever looking after grocery and eatable stuff they should go down on that so that everybody could actually eat, because eat is a must. You can’t take the money and eat it. Sometimes you have the money and you can’t buy enough thing because the money so small. I think they should give out more small business things because I see them does share chicken and thing and I would glad to get them things I would mind it and pluck it and sell you know.”
Joanna Sertimer, a single mother, said “Everything gone up, but you got to manage somehow. It does be really, really difficult because you draw this amount a salary and you got to go in the supermarket and you got to buy on top of the taxes with the stuff. It does be real dramatic. It does affect but you got to try. Depends on how much I earn, so I does buy. I am a security guard and where I work it get times where you does get ten days off a month and times that you does get eight so the ones that you get more money you does try to buy as much stuff as you can because them months where you get more day off it does be really hard and you does got to try manage you rent but the food stuff does be really high. For me I see oil and butter gone up, and the VAT on them food things hard. You got to budget yourself in terms of if you putting in this amount of money in you utility bills you got to cut back on something. You can’t do everything one time. I think they can help reduce tax. They does give cash grant but not often. Reducing the tax would be a big relief on people especially on my end. Especially on the foodstuff and the water bill and electricity because you using lil bit electricity and when you go, you bill is $9,000 for one month.”
Roy Sabajo, who travels between Suriname and Guyana, said: “There is a big difference between the two countries. Guyana more expensive. The first thing they need to do something about is the foodstuff, that is very important and they need to do something about that because food is a basic need. It’s something we got to live by and live from it. I believe they can work from that rice, potato, onion work on that. To come over here [Guyana] it raise now. Let’s say last year the passage for the ferry was US$20 for one person, now it increase to US$30 so US$10 added on and vehicles and so on increase. So the cost of living going up, which I understand. I know that. People always complaining about money and saying they need a salary increase just to be able to buy stuff.
Then as soon as you get the salary increase, business people carry up the prices so you back to square one. I think they should look at price control because everything comes through customs and from there everybody got to register their goods so the government needs to have control of that sector. If you have control of that, you, as the government, is the one that gives licence to import and export. So it’s best they control that because if they could control that you could have a price index and you as a government can put down the price and make sure it doesn’t jump up anyhow for all of Guyana. And then people can budget better. But if everybody doing their own thing then it’s wild wild west and that can’t work. I am a taxi man in Suriname. I’m married so my wife and daughter are Guyanese. So I already move a lot of things from my house back home so I’m already here trying to make it work.”
Ms Beharry said: “The cost of living ain’t really affecting me cause I working with myself but you do find things gone up and the price control people ain’t doing anything. That is what they should do something about.”
Duncan Murzeus, who sells ‘chicken pudding’ he imports from Suriname, said: “This comes from Suriname so it’s very expensive over there and it go up lil bit since I start six months now. I just try to buy what I need and that’s it. I think they got to low down the prices in them shops on certain things because that would help everybody. There is poor people too, you know some people who don’t get nothing or money to buy certain things. So if them prices go down in them shop them people could survive more. Me and my friend come to Guyana and nobody was selling chicken pudding so we decided to start selling and people start come and buy. So we trying with everything we have. Some days are good and some days are rough but you have to work. I hope they can try reduce some prices.”
Nicola Romney said: “Everyday things increasing in the shop and markets, groceries respectively. Well you does got to cut short on cooking three meals a day, cut short on the cooking. Government needs to decrease the VAT on some of the groceries, because some are very high and they should share out food vouchers on a monthly basis to homes who are in need of it. That would help a lot of people. If they could give a lil $50,000 monthly to each home that need it, that would be good; or even every other month. The government needs to have a very serious meeting with the businessmen in Guyana about raising the price in these groceries because the GRA does not raise price on them when they bring in these things for them to raise the price on people every time they want. Plus the bills. I does try to burn less current in my house and turn everything off at certain times.”
Charles Thomas said: “Everything increase. I does drive boat in Berbice River and everybody talking about it. People from in there does come out and shop out here and it get one one shop in there but the prices hot because when them people come buy to go take back to sell, them does got to pay cart, then you got to pay a boat to take it in and then the people got to make an interest so everything way higher. Everything gone up. Is everything gone up. I can’t tell you one thing I remember that stay the same price for a while. I think they need to look at how they can get more money to the people. It’s a tight situation. You can’t really get a proper month. It’s very stiff but wah we can do? Everything is going up because if gasoline raise then everybody raise, Guyana producing gas. price na supposed to raise so much.”
Neisha Patoir said: “The cost of living very high but we trying. My husband does work at the oil company so it’s 28 days on and 28 days off, so you know what does happen when you get bills to pay. Everything with the grocery gone up, the grocery side, even to the meat, the beef, the eggs, all the greens everything raise, everything raise. Now I does pay $2,100 for the 10kg brown rice and before it was $1,300 and $1,200 and something and look how much it raise to? So them got to really try do something to help us.”
Quacy Joseph, a taxi driver, said: “From since I growing up everything get stage but at the moment right now, them teachers striking and thing so we not getting enough passengers. We does got to pay fitness, get all them things and now the drivers got to be very careful. You got to be careful because if you get a ticket it’s expensive. Car with maintenance it’s expensive, and my wife does deal with the grocery and say things raise, but everything raise right now. For a car, to buy a proper tyre you got to get $15,000 to $20,000; you got to get arm, bushing, everything raise to maintain the car. Then you got to buy gas; we ain’t really making much. To buy a car now, not everybody gon get money to buy a car cash and the mortgage does be like $80,000 so you got to pay that then eat every month. So I hope them look into it and can do something for we man. It lil tight for now but you got to work.”
