Caribbean neighbours are cushioned against high cost of living, but ‘economic powerhouse’ has nothing to offer, UPP notes
The United Progressive Party (UPP) is noting that several Caribbean governments have offered their people some form of relief from the high cost of living.
It points out that St. Kitts has given its civil servants a 10% salary increase and removed duties on food, while Jamaica has provided an electricity subsidy to more than 400,000 households.
In St. Vincent & The Grenadines, the Government is heavily subsidizing fuel for the national electricity company in order to reduce the cost to households and businesses. That country currently has the lowest fuel prices in the OECS.
Grenada’s government, meanwhile, is absorbing much of the fuel price increases – resulting in lower prices than in Antigua and Barbuda – and it is also supplying farmers with heavily discounted fertilizer.
In the meantime, the UPP says, the Gaston Browne economic powerhouse has no solutions to address the high cost of fuel, electricity and food.
This has made it increasingly tough for many families to make ends meet, since wages have failed to keep up with the rapid price increases.
Pensioners tell REAL News the economic climate is especially hard on them since they live on a fixed income and payments are always late. They report that, up to today, July 15, they were yet to receive their pensions for June.
