Guyana’s Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs, Anil Nandlall, says government will not institute price control mechanisms as a response to rising prices of various commodities. He made the comments during his weekly live show ‘Issues in The News’.
“We try to explain these things to persons but it’s not easy so persons are frustrated, and they go out on the street, and they protest but the government can’t regulate the price that the millers, for example, purchase the paddy at unless the government is to impose price tariffs and impose a pricing regime, and we don’t wish to do that as a government,” he said.
He pointed out that the administration prefers to allow the market to regulate prices.
“We can’t impose price control on the millers. We can’t impose price control on the business community. Not that we can’t. We don’t wish to move in that direction. That’s not the style of government to which we are committed… It’s a work in progress and we appeal for understanding,” he said.
Notwithstanding this, the Attorney General said the government is cognizant of the tremendous responsibility it has to reduce the impact of rising commodity prices on Guyanese.
“That is not an easy task for any government, in particular, since we are importing most of these goods and commodities… We appeal for persons to appreciate the difficult task that the government is currently facing,” Nandlall said.
With there being no certainty about when Russia’s onslaught against Ukraine will end, Brent crude continues to trade well over US$100 a barrel. The costs of fuel and commodities in every industry that depend on fuel have increased in many countries.
“We have no control over the prices on the world market,” Nandlall said. “All we can do is use mechanisms that are available to the government to try to regulate the prices, try to subsidise where necessary, try to use the tax system to lower taxes so that the end consumer somehow feels less of the burden.”
So far, the government has assured the population that it will not increase electricity and water rates, despite the respective state utility companies – Guyana Power and Light Inc. and Guyana Water Inc. – noting that the financial positions they find themselves in are not sustainable. Government intends to absorb those costs.
Responding to concerns even before Russia invaded Ukraine, the government implemented cuts to its excise tax on fuel, bringing it down to 10% early this year, as supply chain disruptions affected the cost of living. There is no word yet on whether there would be a further tax cut, but Nandlall said the government has been using Guyana’s state petroleum distributor, Guyana Oil Company Limited (GUYOIL), to keep prices somewhat down.
President Dr. Mohamed Irfaan Ali said on Wednesday that government officials intend to hold national consultations to come up with the best solutions to rising living costs. Guyana budgeted $5 billion in its 2022 expenditure programme to achieve this goal.
