Senior Reporter
kevon.felmine@guardian.co.tt
Four months into married life, banker Shakeem Williams, 26, already runs his household like a balance sheet. Rations for two cost him at least $3,000 a month, a bill he finds steep. And he knows what comes next: each child, he speculates, will add at least $2,000 on top.
Cooking at home was supposed to be the pennywise route, but Williams says the math doesn’t support that.
“Even though people would say it’s cheaper to cook than eating out, the way that groceries rise is about the same,” Williams told Guardian Media as he prepares to see what today’s Budget presentation will offer.
He and his wife now split the shopping, one for produce and another for meat, because prices vary widely from store to store.
He wants tighter price controls, noting that even when the economy improves, shelf prices never seem to fall while salaries lag. He would welcome an agency to police them.
Last October, Finance Minister Davendranath Tancoo removed VAT from 16 categories of food items including table salt, mauby, soy sauce, coconut water, cakes and muffins, and locally grown pumpkin, watermelon, cucumber, lettuce and tomatoes. He called it a short-term fix for food affordability. Many staples were already zero-rated, while everything else still carries 12.5 per cent VAT.
The shoppers interviewed in San Fernando named no particular items for the chop. What they want is across-the-board relief, especially on food.
For Martin Francis, 39, of Valencia, the squeeze is measured in boys. A contractor and University of Southern Caribbean student, he feeds a household of six, including four sons aged 13, ten, five and three, whose appetites outrun the budget. The monthly grocery run costs about $3,000; add the market and top-ups, and it reaches at least $4,500, with roughly $1,200 more for gas. He spared a thought for those working with a $20.50 hourly minimum wage, saying it is a heavy load.
Francis is not waiting on today to rescue him. By his own account, he is a hustler, picking up passengers on the road to cover his gas bill.
“Any job I can take, I find an extra job.”
He said he stays mellow, prays and trusts God for next month.
Cherry Hosein, 70, of Princes Town, shops monthly for a household of four adults and buys in bulk when she can, spending $2,000 to $2,500. Cooking oil is her yardstick.
“For example, the two gallons of Nariel oil, I used to buy that two years ago for $100. That is $212 at this present moment,” Hosein said.
Her wish list is short: “Basic food items, that should be really affordable, and the price should be down, because we have to survive, and we need the basic items most of all.”
Asked whether the Government should also reassess customs duties and taxes on food imports, her answer was a quick, “Of course.”
Bulk buying, Hosein concedes, is out of reach for many, including some of her friends. Her advice to them is to stock only what the kitchen uses, advice she says she follows herself.
Williams, meanwhile, has modest hopes. He only began following budgets last year and cannot put a figure on the relief he wants, only that he wants to see improvement. What matters to him is who the budget is for.
“I want to see what is put forward, especially for the young people, because my dad used to tell me the budget is not for him; it’s for the next generation coming up.”
