UPP Demands Government Address The Double Digit Rise In The Cost of Living

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UPP Demands Government Address The Double Digit Rise In The Cost of Living

As we’ve come to the end of the Carnival period, both individuals and businesses continue to suffer from the unchecked double digit rise in the cost of goods and services.

Unsurprisingly, crime is on the rise, without any clear plan forthcoming from the ABLP Administration.

Further, parents are currently under additional pressure, stretching their limited finances to prepare their children for the return of school.

The June 2022 Consumer Price Index, released by the Statistics Division of the Ministry of Finance, revealed a shocking 10.5% increase in the price of goods and services over the last 12 months. Among many alarming rises, Non-Alcoholic Beverages increased by 9.3%, Soft Drinks by 15%, Coffee, Tea, and Cocoa increased by 19.4% and Oils and Fats – including Butter and Cooking Oil – are up 23.3%.

The index for Meat and Meat Products rose 16.9%, while the index for Poultry increased a shocking 25.1%. Compounding the pain in the kitchen, the index for Transport rose a whopping 27.6%.

The UPP is calling for the implementation of immediate measures to curb the rapidly rising cost of living.

 

  1. For a limited time, reduce Customs Duty on certain food items and on building materials.

 

  1. For a limited time, remove Customs Duty on essential foods like ling fish, corned beef, sardines, salt beef, pig mouth, pig foot, breakfast cereals, oats, cooking oil and others.

 

  1. Expand access to the People’s Benefit social protection programme

 

The United Progressive Party (UPP) Political Leader, Harold Lovell observes, “The high cost of food is greatly hurting the unemployed and the underemployed, whose incomes are not rising in line with the cost of living. Many of the foods which are widely consumed in our culture currently attract some of the highest duties.

The impact of rising global prices is therefore multiplied in the final price of goods on store shelves, putting vulnerable families in jeopardy.

The reduction and removal of customs duties on certain essential foods will provide immediate relief.” He further comments, “Given the scarcity of jobs and continuing unemployment crisis, it is critical to provide greater access to the People’s Benefit Programme. The reduced customs duties will ensure that this assistance affords vulnerable individuals greater access to the goods they need.”

The UPP also recommends diligent monitoring of food prices on store shelves, to ensure that the financial benefits are passed onto consumers.

 

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24 COMMENTS

  1. Excellent suggestions. These relief measures will benefit everyone, not just a few. And the decision on who gets relief is not in the hands of some MP or other ABLP operative like with the voucher program.

    Why is the Economic Wizard unable to bring relief to the people? Is he only good at creative enrichment, land flipping and collecting $20K US per month rent from failed investors?
    Anyway to hell with Gaston. A man who says single mothers shouldn’t get stimulus because they will waste it on hair and nails while the pickenega starve would never even think to do these caring things the UPP is recommending.

  2. This is not what we imagined when we voted twice for the “economic powerhouse.”
    Everybody knows that prices have gone up but many governments have found ways to provide relief. This government won’t even acknowledge the hardship that we face. If they think $500 in our hand just before the election is the answer, they are making a big mistake. Let them come with that foolishness. Economic Poor house.

  3. Does the caricom treaty allow us to reduce customs duties on food items? dont we need harmonized customs rates?

    rather than give up revenue the goverment should use the tax income to focus on raising pay instead (and invest in technology for productivity gains).

    The only impact we can have on inflation locally is to focus on productivity increases and raising our foreign exhange income.

  4. All excellent suggestions next Prime Minister of Antigua and Barbuda and we the poor people of this country eagerly await your ascension to the leadership of this country so that our very tight squeeze can be eased. Thanks for assuring us that the UPP government will definitely govern as a caring government for all. That’s why Mr. Lovell, on Election Day we will vote for you and the redeem team because it will be in our best interest and of course the best interest of this nation. Gaston Browne and his cabal must go! 🙏🏽🙏🏽

  6. Mr KNIGHT played a recording of a woman, a Labour Party supporter calling into POINTE FM and bawling, really bawling about the cost of living.
    As me mother used to say: ” The stick that beat the wild goat, beat the tame one”.
    ABLP, A WICKED, HEARTLESS,GREEDY GOVERNMENT.

  7. @Poverty @wicked are we now pretending that the government didnt already wave duties on food items when they extended the dollar barrel intiative for over a year. Am i missing something?

    • @UMM

      THE EXTENSION OF THE DOLLAR BARREL, incidentally which was introduced by the UPP, has nothing whatsoever to do with the COST OF LIVING CRISIS…..THIS CRISIS STARTED LONG AFTER COVID.

      WHY DOES THE ABLP PATRONISE US THINKING THAT YOU COULD FOOL US. FOOL YOUR OWN SUPPORTERS WHO DO NOT READ. NOT SENSIBLE SUPPORTERS INCLUDING THE ONES WHO READ, LIKE THE UPP ONES

    • YES, you ARE missing lots of things
      In the first place, you forgot to thank the UPP for introducing the Dollar Barrel INITIATIVE.

      In the second place you are assuming that all the 100,000 Antiguans have relatives who send barrels. What happens to those people who do not.
      However if the DUTIES WERE REMOVED, EVERYONE WOULD BENEFIT.

      Sorry UMM. You effort at deception has failed!

  8. Well well well. Since Lovell cannot reach into the halls of Parliament to ask questions to the government, he believes he can do so via the media. Well Pringle and Walker are there to ask the questions on your behalf. They have been doing so on every occasion they get.
    But since the UPP is so smart, they should have put forward their solutions to the problem before the government does. That way they can brag to the public and show that they have the capability to run this country. Come with solutions Harold. Not dumb questions that everyone knows the answers to. Inflation in Antigua is imported. There is not much we can do about that. We cannot print money. We cannot increase wages and become more un-competitive. The last Caricom meeting has shown our dependency on North America when it comes to food security. We need to do something about regional trade. And that is where LIAT comes in again. And the long spoken about Caribbean Shipping line to take goods from Guyana, Surinam to the rest the Caribbean. And perhaps start to work on a single Caribbean currency, just like the EURO. The EC Dollar has shown that it can work. We need not to reinvent the wheel. Just improve it.

    • Antigua is dependent on america? Sorry for being blunt but you folks are in deep deep shit. America is in the midst of a totalitarian takeover, energy prices are astronomical and food is getting scarce. After a leveling of inflation a sharp rise is expected here and with Biden’s latest legislation our taxes will be rising sharply as will inflation due to a half- trillion dollar cash dump into our economy. Fuel prices are falling slightly for now bit are expected to rise, thereby dramatically increasing already high shipping costs.

      God be with you all.

    • Well asot will probably be leader of the oppostion after UPPs embarasing loss at the polls. He might do more for the country in that position than UPP ever could

  10. Breaking news. UPP will remove customs taxes. Investors will flee government bonds and treasuries. Banks will turn the other way. Government workers won’t get paid. The local economy will start to dry up as government workers go broke and local businesses will fail. @poverty will wonder what went wrong and blame Gaston. The hotelers will win though, they will have a large pool of poor antoguas to higher from and high margins on food bererage sales.

    • HERE IS A SWEET JOKE: I hear that Gaston pulled down his pants and showed his bottom to the world!
      Who does that!

  11. @ UPP is a joke, Lovell is a bigger joke

    I wont even bother to respond to your illiterate writing.

    I would go and hide my face if i were you.

    Only dunces and people who cannot read and write support the ABLP, as your esteemed leader LESTER BIRD ONCE SAID.

Comments are closed.