President Ali to address Parliament on rising cost of living

President Dr Irfaan Ali will be addressing Parliament next month, and he is expected to outline measures to address the rising cost of living in Guyana.
This is according to Vice President Dr Bharrat Jagdeo during his weekly press briefing on Thursday at the PPP/C Headquarters on Robb Street, Georgetown.
“I know we have a ton of ideas, and the President will speak at the opening of the Parliament,” he said.
The National Assembly is currently in a recess which runs from August 10 to October 10.
Jagdeo was at the time questioned about the $7 billion budgeted to implement measures to cushion the impacts of the cost of living this year. “As far as I know… the money is still in the budget, not being utilised as yet for specific interventions on cost of living,” he disclosed.
In addition to increases in subsidies and measures to boost agriculture production and improve education and healthcare, Government had, in the 2024 National Budget, allocated $7 billion to address price increases of basic commodities.
Government had, in 2023, acknowledged that many people were being affected by the rising cost of living, and $5 billion had been set aside to implement additional measures to help alleviate the burdens. Those measures included a $25,000 one-off bonus paid to all public servants, including teachers and members of the Disciplined Services, semi-autonomous agencies, and public enterprises such as the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo).
In addition, old-age pensioners had received a $25,000 one-off payment in December 2023, which had seen some 72,000 pensioners benefitting. A one-off grant of $28,000 had been paid to all old-age pensioners in 2022, and they had received a $25,000 one-off grant in 2021. Further, persons living with disabilities who were on the public register had received a $35,000 one-off bonus in 2023.
Government had allocated $850 million to purchase fertiliser for distribution to farmers. This measure had benefitted 287,000 acres of cultivation and 35,000 farmers.
Further, under the Community Infrastructure Improvement Project (CIIP), community enhancement workers’ monthly earnings had been adjusted upwards to $40,000, which had seen over 2000 workers benefitting.