“No band-aid fixes”, local production increase “way out of this” – VP on cost of living

…outlines $100B already spent to ease burdens

Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo has declared that price controls on food are not a viable long-term solution to tackling the rising cost of living, stating instead that the Government’s approach remains rooted in expanding local production to stabilise prices and ensure food security.
Speaking at his weekly press conference on Thursday, the Vice President said the Government has already rolled out multiple programmes to support this objective, including seed financing, farm-to-market infrastructure, and regional food hubs. These, he emphasised, are tangible responses to cost-of-living challenges that have been exacerbated globally by supply chain disruptions and inflationary pressures.
“So, we have to work now to make sure that we have greater production. Once you expand the production and the supply to the market – why do you think the black eye that we import now from abroad, which comes in at a higher price, we are producing within two years; we’re going to produce all the black eye we consume. Within another two years, we’ll be doing all the red beans that we’re importing. We’ll be taking our soya production and pressing the soya bean oil so that the hundreds of containers that come in every month to supply our need for cooking oil…we can produce it right here in Guyana. That is what we have to do. We have to produce more meat here, the pork. We’re just having… prices went up because of more people eating more meat now. So, the best response is to incentivise people. We have to put it now to produce more,” Jagdeo said.
Dismissing suggestions recently echoed by certain sections of society that recommended price controls should be considered as a tool to protect consumers, Jagdeo explained that such an approach is economically dangerous, which could cripple local supply chains and create artificial shortages.
On this point, he emphasised that the cost of living cannot be addressed with temporary band-aids. Instead, the administration is committed to a dual approach: putting more money in people’s pockets while lowering the cost of essentials.
“So, this is how we are approaching that whole issue. And it’s laid out here. So, we are focused on putting more money in people’s pocket through higher wages and salaries, and lowering costs. Lowering costs. We’re taking away the cost of funding education and health care from you, from your families. So, you can go to any public hospital and get proper care. You don’t have to worry when your child is born about their education because the state will take care of it. You just have to be able to work. We provide more opportunities and acquire more things and your community will have a safer environment,” he explained.

Bring down cost of living
The ruling PPP/C has assured that when elected to office at the September 1 General and Regional elections, it will further bring down the cost of living.
Jagdeo, who was outlining some of the party’s plans for the next five years, said the party has a track record of providing jobs, pointing to when it took office in 2020. Jagdeo recalled that tens of thousands of jobs were created for Guyanese.
He zeroed in on the agriculture sector, saying that the part will give support to farmers and sugar workers. Apart from implementing initiatives to reduce the cost of living, Jagdeo said much attention will be placed on security during the PPP/C’s next term in office.
“We have to make sure that we get more loans to people who want to start small businesses. In every one of your villages, we want to make sure that we have street lights and security cameras to fight against crime.”
Speaking about infrastructure, the VP pointed out that the plan is to have the drainage system improved.
“We want to do concrete drains. We want to make sure that all your communities are secure. We have to pick up the garbage better. We get a lot of complaints about the NDCs (Neighbourhood Democratic Council), etc. We need to fix a lot of things in the future. But only one party can do that, and that’s the People’s Progressive Party. I want you again to commit to safeguarding that future,” the VP said.

Array of initiatives
The PPP/C Government has implemented a wide array of initiatives aimed at directly improving the livelihoods of Guyanese families and reducing everyday expenses. These initiatives have a total projected cost of over $100 billion to the treasury between 2024 and 2025 alone.
Among some of the initiatives already implement are the $100,000 one-time cash grant to every Guyanese over the age of 18; free tuition at the University of Guyana (UG); electricity and water subsidy for pensioners; minimum monthly salary of $100,000 for all Government workers; increased tax threshold and also $10,000 per child per month for one parent per family; $100,000 payout for every newborn to support early childhood needs.
In addition, pensions raised from $36,000 to $41,000 per month in the 2025 budget, boosting disposable income for over 76,000 pensioners. Public assistance increased from $19,000 to $22,000 per month starting January 1, 2025, offering enhanced support for vulnerable groups; $10,000 universal healthcare voucher for every citizen, financing basic health tests and targeting around 500,000 persons, costing an estimated $5 billion; removal of all Customs Duty and value added tax (VAT) on electric vehicles in the 2025 National Budget, encouraging greener transportation and environmental responsibility; a 50 per cent write-down allowance on electric vehicles, to further incentivise their purchase; reduced import duty on new motor vehicles under 1500cc from 45 per cent to 35 per cent in 2023, saving approximately $200,000 per vehicle; introduction of a flat $800,000 tax on used vehicles under 1500cc, replacing the variable tax and reducing overall import costs by around $300,000 per vehicle; reduction of excise tax on gasoline and diesel, reducing fuel costs for all motorists.
This is in addition to $1 billion in fertiliser for farmers; removal of VAT on sheet rock and concrete boards, basic construction materials; removal of VAT on fertilisers, agrochemicals, pesticides and several inputs in the poultry industry.