How the Cost of Living is aff

Part 58

Stabroek News spoke to members of the public at Timehri Base Road, East Bank Demerara about the rising cost of living and how it is affecting them. The following are their comments:

Lillowtie Hurdail

Lillowtie Hurdail said: “The cost of living is really high since the cost for the utility bill and grocery bill have increased. My family of three tries to manage with the rising cost of living. My husband is a pensioner and I receive my disability benefits every month from the government. Nobody works in the home. We are trying to pay our bills and buy grocery items because we are afraid the light, telephone and water would cut off. So, if my family and I have to eat one meal a day, we have to content with that and the next two meals, we will have to put the cost towards paying the utility bill. I’m also looking after my granddaughter. For example, the cost of a small bag Karibee rice was $1,700 a few months ago; now the same bag cost $2,040. A 5-litre bottle of oil that cost $2,000 and something; now cost $3,000. The government is already assisting my husband and I with money, so there isn’t much the government can help us with, other than what they are helping us with at the moment. We just have to content with what we have for now by coping with the rising cost of living.”

Paul Gentle

Paul Gentle, a 32-year-old construction worker said: “The cost of living is affecting my family of six but nevertheless, I have found ways to work around it by working longer hours. Who’s going to help you? I found ways to work around it. It is difficult for me, yes, especially when I’m purchasing food items. I am putting in 12 hours of work now in order to cover the cost for food items my family and I consume daily, not forgetting the bills I have to pay and school expenses I have to cover. For instance, the cost for a pound of sugar was $100 a couple months back; now a pound of sugar cost $200. Also, a year ago, a sack of brown rice cost about $1,700; now that same sack of brown rice cost $2,200. I have noticed that the cost for a few vegetables has reduced in the market but the cost for certain vegetables still high. The government should provide a brace to citizens in relation to food by implementing a card to every family, so we can use the card to purchase food items, mostly.”

Chandrame Jacobs

Chandrame Jacobs said: “I have a grocery business setup and will hustle to provide for my family because my husband doesn’t work due to his illness. I have children going to school. I do hustle yes, with my grocery shop but this can’t support my entire family because I still have to pay utility bill. I have an apartment I’m renting but the money, once again can’t do to support my family and I. I’m a family of six consisting of my three children, one grandchild, my husband and I. For instance, I bought a small bag of Karibee rice a couple months ago for $1,860; now the same bag of rice cost $1,980. Also, a pack of Demerara Gold sugar that cost $360/$380 a couple months; now cost $480. Well, I saw that the cost for hot peppers has reduced in the market. A pound of peppers a couple months ago cost $2,000; now a pound of peppers cost $300/$400. Even the cost for a big pack of Natura milk has reduced in the market. The cost for vegetables is still high in the market. The government should try to have certain cost for food items reduce.”

Basmatie Hanuman

Basmatie Hanuman, a 60-year-old cook said: “Food prices are still high in the market and the money I’m working for is not enough to buy food items. I’m trying with the high cost since I can’t do anything about it. I normally buy food items at the market and resell them, to help with my finances. For example, A 20-pound cylinder cooking gas that cost $4,500 a couple months ago; now cost $5,000. Also, a small bag of Karibee rice cost $2,000 a few months ago; now the same bag of rice cost $2,200. Well, I saw that a cut of pumpkin cost $400 now, compared to when the cost was $1,000 a few months ago. The cost is still high, the cost was cheaper a few months ago. My husband plants vegetables by people so he would bring home for us to use in the home. The government should monitor the cost food items are sold for in the market because poor people can’t afford to purchase food items at such exorbitant prices.”

John Jainandan

John Jainandan, a 51-year-old construction worker said: “The cost of living is not affecting me a lot because all the members in my home are working presently. I’m a family of four, including my wife and two children. When the sun is hot, the cost for vegetables goes up, when the rain comes, the cost for vegetables reduces in the market. I don’t look on the cost for an item when I’m purchasing, I just buy but I’m aware that the cost for food items has risen in the market. For example, a 20 pounds cylinder cooking gas two weeks ago cost $4,300; now last week the same cooking gas cost $4,700. The cost for meat has increased. A pound of chicken a few months cost $500; now a pound of chicken cost $600. Even a pound of beef that cost $800/$700 a few months ago; now cost $700 and $900 at some places. The citizens should produce more food items while the government should continue to assist the people who can’t, so they can be independent in producing their own.”

Melene Gentle

Melene Gentle said: “The cost of living is affecting me a lot since the cost for food items has increased in the market and this has become costly for me to buy. The salary is not increasing but the cost for food items has increased in the market. I’m trying to cope with the cost of living by working, I can’t sit down, I have to continue working to provide for myself. For example, a pound of garlic that cost $200 and something a couple months ago; now cost $400 and something. A bag of Karibee rice that cost $2,000 a few months ago; now cost $2,100 for the same bag of rice. The government should look into ways they can reduce the cost for food items in the market.”

Ann Morris

Ann Morris, a single parent said: “The upermarket on the Timehri Public Road that was recently destroyed by a fire, sells items cheaper, compared to other shops in the area and versus some items that are sold in Georgetown. I don’t know what I’m going to do now since the supermarket is no more.

All food items have increased in the market. I’m a single mother of three children. For example, A tin of Nestum a few months ago cost $1,600/ $1,700 /$1,900; now the same tin of Nestum cost $2,100 and something. That price for the Nestum had remained so since the holidays. Also, a 5 kg pack of Demerara Gold sugar cost $1,500 a few months ago; now the same pack cost almost $1,800 at some place and even more expensive at other places. Also, the cost for a pint of channa a few months ago was $160; now a pint of channa cost $360. Some of the items in the shop should not be sold for so exorbitant prices because the items are produced right here, in Guyana. The government should look into the high prices of food items that are produced right here in Guyana.”

Indranie Persaud

Indranie Persaud said: “The rising cost of living is affecting me a lot because when I’m finished paying my utility bill, grocery items and cover transportation expense for work, no money is left from my salary to save. The cost for food items has increased in the market, for example, a pound of chicken couple months ago cost $360/$400; now a pound of chicken cost $500. Also, three Banga Mary fish that cost $500 a few months ago; now cost $1,000 for the same three fish. The cost for vegetables is still costly in the market. I have two children going to school, so I have to try to cope with the cost of living since I normally give them money for snacks and lunch every day. I’m a family of five including three children. The government should increase all labourers’ salary to $5,000 a day as this will help them to provide more for their family.”

Clinton Carter

Clinton Carter said: “Right now, it is hard on me to get a job to support my family and I. By the grace of God, I’m surviving today. Job hunting for construction work is hard. It’s on and off for me and every day when I go to the shop, I have noticed that the cost for some food items has risen. For example, a 1 litre bottle of oil a few months ago cost $600; now the same bottle of oil cost $800. A big pack of flour a few months ago cost like $600 and something/ $700 and something: now the same pack of flour cost $800. Everyone around the area usually speaks about the high cost for food items. First, when I worked a week, I could have saved $5,000 but now, I can only save $3,000/ $2,000 a week because I have to spend more money at the shop now and the salary is not increasing today. The government should place price control on food items and create more jobs in the community to help people with the rising cost of living.”

Armela Sukhlal

Armela Sukhlal, a 48-year-old domestic worker said: “The cost of living is affecting me since the cost for a lot of food items has increased in the market. My husband works as a carpenter and I do domestic work but still the cost of living is affecting us. I used to purchase $25,000 in grocery from the shop, now I’m spending $40,000 for the same amount of grocery.

For example, a cylinder of cooking gas that cost $4,000 and something a few months ago: now cost $5,500. A pound of eschalot that cost $200 before; now cost $600. Even a pound of celery now cost $900/$1,000; before the cost was cheaper.

The cost for vegetable is still high. The cost for bora has increased in the market. I’m not buying bora now. I used to buy a bundle of bora that contained 3 parcel of bora a few months ago for $200; now I’m getting the same bundle of bora for $500. I would like the government to help me with the cost to start a small business because I’m a family of four and would like to provide for them despite the high cost of living.

Also, I’ve always tried to inquire about the street in the Timehri Base Road because the street is not good, and a lot of children traverse the road every day to go to school. The deplorable state is not easy for anyone to traverse. I would like the government to look into this. “

From page 8

We suggested that the solution to the problem lies perhaps in the amendment to the NRF Act to provide for a third category of payments, that is, to discharge Exxon’s liabilities to the GRA. However, apart from the absence of ring-fencing provisions, how does one seek to amend legislation to cater for one of the most egregious and dishonorable aspects of the PSA? Alternatively, if it can be argued that payment to the GRA falls within the category of “national development priorities”, then there is no need to amend the Act.

In today’s article, we review the audited accounts of Ministries/Departments/Regions which include both Appropriation Accounts and Statements of Receipts and Disbursements, for the fiscal year ended 31 December 2022.

Certification of accounts

There are over 200 Appropriation Accounts and Statements of Receipts and Disbursements of Ministries/Departments/Regions. The Auditor General’s certification was only in relation to the eleven sets of statements constituting the consolidated public accounts. However, in the body of his report, the Auditor General did state that these accounts and statements are subject to his comments under the relevant sections of his report. In principle, each set of financial statements, including the more than 200 appropriation and revenue accounts, should be certified individually to avoid a situation where a blanket opinion is issued covering accounts that are in good shape and with less queries as well as those that are not so. Perhaps, an abbreviated version of the audit opinion can be attached to each account, with words to the effect ‘in my opinion the Appropriation and Revenue Accounts of, say, the Ministry of Finance, properly present the revenue and expenditure for the fiscal year ….’

Highlights of the report Overpayments to contractors

The Audit Office examined 466 contracts and found overpayments totalling $52.827 million on 33 contracts based on measured works against bills of quantities. This represents 7.1 percentage of the contracts awarded, an indicator that the level of monitoring and supervision of the works needs to be improved. Although some recoveries were made, $17.121 million remained outstanding at the time of reporting. The unrecovered overpayments were mainly in relation to the regions. A similar observation was made in 2021 where, of the 411 contracts were examined, overpayments totalling $52.996 million were made on 37 contracts. The incidence of overpayments to contractors has been a regular feature of the Auditor General’s reports over the years with little or no evidence of any action being taken to remedy the situation.

Contracts awarded to blacklisted contractors

The Region 9 Administration awarded two contracts valued at $20.350M to a contractor who has been blacklisted by the Public Procurement Commission. A similar observation was made in 2021 where eight contracts totalling $106.830M were awarded to a blacklisted contractor.

Termination of contracts due to poor performance

Contracts for the material stockpile and rehabilitation of Mahdia Main Access, the construction of Timber Wharf and Landing and the construction of GMC Packaging Facility at Sophia, were terminated due to poor performance by the contractors. A similar observation was made in 2021 where contracts for the re-construction of Imbaimadai Police Station, construction of a Primary school at Waramadong and the rehabilitation of Lola Street in Cane Grove were all terminated due to poor performance by the contractor.

These observations highlight the need for the Authorities to critically examine the basis of award of contracts to ensure that only qualified and competent contractors with proven track record of performance are awarded contracts. A convenient starting point is a review of the membership and operations of the various tender boards, especially the National Procurement and Tender Administration Board. There should also be a more effective system of monitoring of the works to ensure their timely execution since there are additional cost implications arising from undue delays in the execution of the works, termination of contracts, and re-advertising of the works, among others.

Cheques on hand

As at September 2023, eight budget agencies had 277 cheques valued at $352.613M still on hand. It is unclear what these payments represented and why the cheques were held so long after the close of the fiscal year. In any event, the cheques had become stale-dated and should be cancelled. As a result, the respective appropriation accounts were overstated by the above amount. A similar observation was made in 2021 where there were 162 cheques valued at $623.404 million still on hand. Could it be a situation where cheques are drawn close to year-end in order to exhaust voted provisions, considering that all unspent balances at the end of the year have to be refunded to the Consolidated accounts?

Unpresented payment vouchers

The Auditor General reported that 426 payment vouchers valued at $1.110 billion were not presented for audit. A total of 54 vouchers for $887.330 million were in respect of Guyana Defence Force, while 372 valued at $223.108 million were in respect of the Region 5. The Auditor General concluded that in the absence of vouchers and supporting documents, he was unable to ascertain whether value was received for the sums involved, and whether the funds were used for the purposes intended. In the absence of vouchers and supporting documents, was it possible that alternative auditing procedures could have been adopted to ensure that value was received in respect of these payments?