THE People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) administration has taken a decision to reduce the excise tax on diesel and gasoline. The tax, which was 20 per cent, will now be reduced to zero; this is a clear indication of the commitment by the current administration to cushion the increased cost of living fuelled by rising fuel prices.

It should be recalled that when the PPP/C took office in August 2020, the excise tax on fuel was 50 per cent, but it was decreased to 35 per cent in February 2021, then to 20 per cent in the same year. A further reduction was made to 10 per cent in the 2022 budget.

Now it has been reduced to zero, which, in effect, meant that the government is prepared to forgo millions of dollars in revenues in order to cushion the effects of higher costs to the consuming public.

The cost of fuel impacts directly on the living standards of the Guyanese people. One immediate consequence is higher fares to the commuting public, but it also affects the prices of nearly all consumer items due to higher transportation and production costs.

This is just one of several measures implemented by the government to bring down the cost of living. Other interventions include financial assistance to every household in the aftermath of the flood situation last year and the COVID-19 pandemic amounting to over $7.5 billion dollars; $1.73 billion in economic grants to 220 Amerindian communities; $1.3 billion in cash payments to the 5,300 sugar workers whose services were terminated by the previous APNU+AFC administration and $2.2 billion to the 90,000 people currently benefitting from old-age pensions.

There is also the return of the “Because We Care programme” which was abruptly discontinued by the Granger-led administration. This programme has now been extended to private schools, which, along with increases to the school uniform grant, will place an additional $3.3 billion in the pockets of parents of children attending public schools and $248.8 million to those with children in private school system.

Initiatives such as these are all the more commendable when compared to the actions of the previous APNU-AFC administration to place Value Added Tax (VAT) on fees payable by students attending private schools.

In addition to financial assistance to low-income families, pensioners are now benefitting from water subsidies and credits to electricity charges of which close to 50,000 households are now beneficiaries. It would be recalled that the previous administration not only discontinued the subsidies on water and electricity, but also imposed VAT on these two important utilities which directly impacted on the quality of life of the Guyanese people.

The injection of these massive sums of money into the local economy, apart from the direct reliefs to citizens, also have what economists refer to as the “multiplier effect” on the economy, especially at the local level, resulting in a significant boost to business and trade.

Meanwhile, during a recent outreach to communities in Region Two, Vice-president, Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo, re-assured citizens that the PPP/C administration will continue the search to bring further relief to the Guyanese people, especially in light of the current crisis in Ukraine, which has resulted in higher fuel prices and the increased cost of other food items especially wheat.

The creation of employment opportunities was also highlighted by Dr. Jagdeo. In that regard, he announced that 800 temporary jobs will be created for residents of the region. Those jobs will cater for one member per family with the aim of supplementing family incomes.

Additionally, the government will be providing assistance to help fund small businesses by way of construction costs, and training and subsidies for provision of Internet services that could impact on job creation.

Job creation, according to the Vice-President, is a major focus of the PPP/C administration and revenues from oil and gas will be utilised to enhance the delivery of quality of education and health services, modernising public infrastructure, strengthening other productive sectors and, more particularly, diversification of agriculture.

These steps, as Dr. Jagdeo noted, will lay the foundation for Guyana to enjoy prosperity long after oil is gone.

This is indeed visionary and forward-looking thinking on the part of the PPP/C administration.