And Still I Rise

When I was younger I would hear people talk about the price of commodities in Guyana. I would hear some fantastically high figures quoted for bread and other basic items and I would wonder how on earth did people manage to survive. I recall my first trip to Jamaica where the price of a simple little doll had me dumbstruck. Back then, the price of a doll stood out because at the time those things were high on my agenda. Later on, I would join in with the rest of my peers in referring to the Jamaican and Guyanese currencies as monopoly money.

Imagine my distress when I went into a local supermarket and saw the price of a one litre bottle of cooking oil was now $10.00. I stared at the shelf for a couple seconds before yelling out to my friend who was in another aisle to come and see the horror. Not too long ago said cooking oil was retailing for little over $6.00. We had previously noted that a tin of Goya green peas had reached $6.00 pr tin and the prices on other food items had steadily crept up.

On our last trip to the Fish market,the price for red fish and other such types was now $9.00 pr lb. The price for the smaller fish was equally astronomical. I don't know when it happened but somewhere along the line our money has become monopoly money. Yet,I am positive I heard the PM say during the budget debate on Monday that cost of living is declining.