UNDER pressure from multiple sections of the society burdened by rising prices of essential commodities, the Government is holding steadfast to its promise of reviewing the high cost of living in the Turks and Caicos Islands.
For years the average man has bemoaned the exorbitant cost of living in the TCI, especially for food and other basic necessities, many have expressed that their cries have fallen on deaf ears.
However, Premier Sharlene Cartwright-Robinson in a recent interview on Radio Turks and Caicos said her Government will deliver on its promise to the people; to conduct a comprehensive review of the cost of living and the cost of doing business.
She said: “What we have to do as a country is see how we can expand the economy, in order to grow the public service, we`d have to expand what we`re taking in because that is based on the amount of revenue.
“Also we have to look at how we address the cost of living generally, we know that has to do with fuel , we know that has to do with electricity and all the way down to goods ,but it is fueled by fuel and the cost of electricity ,it is fueled by the cost of Provo Stevedoring.
“We have to isolate these factors and tackle them one by one.
“So there many ways that we can look at it and all of these factors we have to take into account.”
Coupled with the high cost of living, sections of the population have repeatedly called on the Government to implement effective price control mechanisms.
She said: “We did have consumer protection legislation passed in the House of Assembly under the former administration but there are no regulations in place, no standards and that has to be further developed now going forward.
“We supported its passage; we thought it was an important piece of legislation for Honorable Misick to have brought, we support it but we have to work out the regulations and make sure that there are standards because that is something we thought should have come along with the bill but it is going to come.
The Premier pointed out that consumers too have a role to play and are not powerless to incite change.
She explained: “Persons are calling for price control, I know in Barbados where they actually have a consumer protection agency that actually tells you what goods are and what drives a country is the consumers.
“If this is too expensive, you go to the next one and through your power help to drive down the cost.
“So it is not as simple as we would like to think but it is a comprehensive approach that has to be taken.”
She also underscored the importance of having measures in place to ensure consumers experience the trickledown effect of lowered costs on commodities.
“What we have to do for example when we look at goods on the shelf we have to make sure that when these savings come that the merchants actually pass them on to the consumers, that is important.
Several local economists have reasoned that if the government were to implement lower import duties, the suppliers in turn could pass on cheaper prices to the consumers and still make a profit.
The PDM Government on its campaign trail pledged to tackle the economy and the taxation issues in an effort to alleviate the burden on consumers.
