(Kaieteur News) – When yuh small and yuh throw a ball in de air, it does come back down. When yuh fly a kite, it does come back down. Even a government promise sometimes does come down — especially when election time done pass.
But in Guyana, dem boys discover something dat does only know one direction. De cost of living. It going up like a rocket, and it ain’t got no parachute.
The cost of basic items in the supermarket going up, including cooking oil. Since COVID, de price of cooking oil shoot up so high dat frying an egg does feel like investing in Exxon. De importers blame shipping costs. Dem boys wondering if de oil coming from Mars by private jet, because every time dem turn round, de price jump again.
Rice, flour, chicken, vegetables — everything climbing. Even de cemetery raise de price fuh bury people. Dat is what dem boys call a grave situation. In Guyana, yuh can’t even dead cheap!
One lil boy visit he granny and find de poor woman looking worried over de grocery bill.
“Granny, why yuh looking so miserable?” he ask.
“Child, when I was young, I could go in de supermarket with $5,000 and come out with groceries, change, and enough money fuh buy a lil ice cream.”
“Granny, dat is inflation,” de boy explain.
“Inflation?” Granny shout. “It ain’t got nothing to do with inflation! Is dem security cameras dem put in de supermarket! Dem watching me so close, I too frighten to steal anything!”
Dem boys nearly fall off de chair laughing. But when dem stop laughing, dem realise granny got a point about something else: ordinary people watching every dollar, cutting back on necessities, and wondering how far de next pay cheque could stretch.
De problem is dat wages don’t climb as fast as prices. When de supermarket raise prices, it does happen overnight. When workers ask for more money, dem got to wait fuh a committee, a consultation, and sometimes a whole change of government.
Talk half and wait fuh de day when de cost of living decide to come down without needing a ladder and a government announcement!
Talk half. Leff half.
Source: Kaieteur News
