Government should consider food-price controls

THE EDITOR: With the ongoing rise in food prices, Government must embark on a system of price control for all food items.

The Minister of Trade should stop talking about price of food and boasting that this country has a large supply of flour in stock.

The flour stocks now available should not be the subject of sudden increases as indicated by an NFM release on Tuesday.

A serious-minded government would have cushioned the prices of basic goods.

By the way, whatever happened to the list of items that are supposedly VAT zero-rated? I ask because the price of everything in the grocery has gone up.

Housewives facing the market this weekend will be shocked at the price of vegetables. And a similar feeling will appear when they go to the bakery. Just now there will be no wedding cake because of the price of flour, no roti and doubles, which most depend on for their sustenance. Many could be unemployed as well, as food places go out of business.

The nation must ask how is it that commercial companies keep making billions in profit every year when the economy is at a standstill and public servants cannot get a decent wage for the past eight years. Something is wrong.

The political leadership appears not to be functioning on behalf of the people. We need a Government that is more caring and more concerned, rather than oppressing the people. Gas price gone up four times, rice gone up and now flour.

I truly hope both the Minister of Finance and the Minister of Trade wake up and smell the coffee, before it is too late. Look to price controls for basic food items – for the sake of the people.

It is not a joke when I say the people of this nation are under serious stress.

PARAS RAMOUTAR

Caparo