RESULTING from a number of interventions rolled out by the Guyana government, the country will not feel the heavy rise in the cost of living that is felt in the rest of the world.

Outlining direct government interventions as he has done repeatedly before, Vice President, Dr Bharrat Jagdeo said during his Friday press conference that Guyanese have more income in their pockets because of a number of steps including salary increases.

The VP said that a number of persons have been hired on a part-time basis, thus putting $11 billion into the pockets of citizens. Added to that, $30,000 per child was distributed as part of the education cash grant which placed another $6 billion into household incomes.

Other cash grants and pension increases have also been channelled to citizens.

Turning attention to the cost of living, VP Jagdeo said electricity and water rates have been maintained at pre-pandemic rates.

Only recently, the National Assembly approved billions of dollars in additional funding for the Guyana Power and Light Inc (GPL) to ensure that the rising cost of fuel in the rest of the world does not cause an increase in the cost of producing electricity in Guyana.

The Vice President said that almost the whole world has experienced double-digital inflation. This means that inflation in those countries is 10 per cent or more. Guyana’s inflation rate is below that.

Added to these measures, the Vice President said that the rate of assessment of taxes was changed not to reflect higher prices for shipping.

Persons building low income homes are also receiving free steel and cement through a government housing initiative, the VP belaboured.

The expectation, the VP continued, is that at some point the global inflation will decrease and the global supply chain will return to a state of normalcy.