Gov’t did more to help citizens with high cost of living compared to other countries – Jagdeo

As the high cost of living continues to cripple economies regionally and globally, the Government of Guyana has been implementing measures since its assumption to office in 2020 to cushion the effects for citizens, compared to advanced countries.

This was highlighted by the General Secretary of the People’s Progressive Party (PPP), Dr Bharrat Jagdeo during his weekly press engagement held at Freedom House, Thursday.

He said this issue is not isolated to Guyana but other parts of the world including Caribbean countries and South American countries.

“The cost of living has skyrocketed in Trinidad and Tobago; it has skyrocketed in Venezuela. In Suriname, unbelievably in the US, etc. Cost of living increases have been observed across the world, higher than in Guyana,” Dr Jagdeo pointed out.

He blasted sections of the local media for painting a picture that the government is not doing anything to address this issue locally. Although a steep increase was recorded for fuel, the administration did not increase the price of electricity, resulting in thousands of consumers benefitting from the same price of electricity.

“Electricity is a huge component of the high cost of living; electricity prices. We kept water and electricity prices constant. We then reduced in the period when freight had gone from $3500 to $20,000 per container to ship from China. We still use the $3500 for the purpose of calculating the taxes,” he stated.

The excise tax on fuel was also reduced on several occasions in light of the rampant rise in fuel prices.

Other measures include putting more disposable income into the pockets of citizens through the ‘Because We Care’ cash grant, an increase in old age pension and public assistance.

Dr Jagdeo added, “Ask what the other countries have done in that regard. You’ve seen in Suriname a massive increase in electricity prices … Stabroek News should at least say to people, what is being done to abate the cost of living and the interventionism approach we’ve had here with the Government of Guyana.”

In budget 2023, $5.5 billion has been earmarked to roll out measures to cushion the effects of the high cost of living for Guyanese.

According to Dr Jagdeo, the government will soon convene a national consultation on the best options to ease the financial challenges faced by Guyanese. “We’d see where the interventions are needed,” he highlighted.

Some $5.5 billion was also set aside in 2022 for interventions aimed at easing the burden of the rising cost of living.