During the election, the old ULP told us that “small shops all across this country are critical community institutions and must be protected and uplifted.” But 4 months on, and the Gonsalves family appears to abandon this written promise by raising the customs charge at a time when small business most needs support.
Writing in the Weekend Searchlight, local businessman Leonet Anderson told consumers that higher prices are coming. The COVID-19 pandemic has led to slower shipping, higher manufacturing costs and more absent staff, which is naturally leading to higher costs for small businesses and higher prices on imported goods for consumers.
Within this article however, Anderson adds that increasing the customs charge from 5% to 6% makes what was a temporary problem due to COVID, a permanent and more serious one.
Camillo is using this customs charge increase as a way to build its own finances at the expense of the small business and the consumer because a rise in prices means more revenue for government through duty and VAT:
“I am not over exaggerating. Look for prices to increase. Food prices increase. But thing is, a rise in prices means more revenue for government through duty and VAT…Government getting more revenue, but how do you see the consumer surviving?”
Leonet Anderson
Another local businessman quoted in the article, Lance Oliver of Rent and Drive Ltd has also warned about higher prices being passed on:
“Even on motor oil prices. Some suppliers have sent notices about price increase and noted that they can’t absorb it anymore, so they have to pass it on.
“In some cases, between 5 to 20 per cent increase,” Oliver said.
When the cost of importing goods into the country is high, why has the tired ULP Government insisted on raising the customs charge even further?
Anderson’s point about higher prices, forces the question about how people are going to be able to afford to buy their weekly shopping. At a time when thousands of people are losing their jobs, the Gonsalves Government is making what was already a bad situation worse.
This decision is only impacting the people the ULP told us they wanted to “protect and uplift.” That is the small businesses and those who need Government support the most. At a time when record numbers of businesses are closing and unemployment is rising, Camillo has sought to hurt the most vulnerable in our community.