Minister of Labour Dion Foulkes. (File photo)
By LEANDRA ROLLE
Tribune Staff Reporter
lrolle@tribunemedia.net
AMID complaints over price increases on certain goods in the country, Labour Minister Dion Foulkes said investigations conducted by the Price Control Commission have shown that higher costs are a “direct result” of COVID-19 impact’s on food costs worldwide.
Speaking virtually at a press conference this week, Mr Foulkes said since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, inspectors from the Consumer’s Affairs Unit have increased their presence at retail stores to ensure that there is no price gouging happening amid the health crisis.
For New Providence, the minister said some 1,196 retail establishments, including food stores and pharmacies, were inspected during the period.
On the Family Islands, Mr Foulkes said 1,680 businesses were inspected.
“There were minor infractions recorded and, in such cases, merchants were officials warned and ordered to change prices in the presence of officers,” he added.
As it relates to Grand Bahama and Bimini, there were 576 inspections completed on those islands, with 31 warnings given.
The minister said while officials have received many complaints on the issue of price gouging, investigations by the PCC found that, in most cases, price increases were directly linked to the negative impact of the COVID-19 crisis on food costs globally.
“I wish to say that we have had a lot of complaints. I got a complaint from Grand Bahama from, I think it was Minister of State (For Grand Bahama) Kwasi Thompson who referred the complaint to me from Grand Bahama about a drastic increase at one of the pharmacies for one of the items,” he said.
“We immediately dispatched an inspector to investigate that and this would have been in March, early April and it was true that the price did go up significantly but the owner of the pharmacy was able to show us the invoices where he brought the items in the United States at the increased prices and that was a direct result if the prices going up in the United States.
“So I would like to say to consumers, if you see prices going up, it does not mean that the price control regulations are being breached. The owners and operators of pharmacies and food stores and other establishments for price control items are allowed a certain percentage and they add the cost of those items onto that percentage so if the cost of the item goes up then the price goes up.”
Comments
mandela 4 years ago
Mr. Minister let's make checking for price gouging an ongoing exercise, we want to know that your department is checking on price gouging today, last week not in March and April 7 months ago.
Amused 4 years ago
Sthese idiots just are clueless
ohdrap4 4 years ago
No problem. The majority of workers, except for hotel workers, are back to work.
Except for you, AND FOUR OTHERS, I never loved a woman like this before. Said Capt. Quinn in Barry Lyndon.
DDK 4 years ago
Meanwhile our justice system is denying bail to a person ACCUSED of stealing a handful of groceries.......
The_Oracle 4 years ago
First costs are still rising, and will for some time. Supply chains have been interrupted also, causing shortages of many items.
bahamianson 4 years ago
you mean higher prices on top of already high prices..........comical. 1 gallon of milk in certain parts of the states cost .99 cents on sale, here milk cost $7 a gallon. A lot of families in the states run Ac all month and complain when their bill is $120. have you tried to run a unit for the entire month? Our cost of living is 4 to 6 times higher than our friends in America. Our clothes and food prices are outrageous. I would think that the cost is even higher on The Family Of Islands. This is an expensive place to live,period. Try buying health insurance....
JokeyJack 4 years ago
... and so the chickens have come home to roost in the Bahamas, where we have an elected King every 5 years. A person who is appointed by the majority vote of the Party having the majority of members in the House. Unlike the Leader of the Opposition who can be appointed by the vote of all those not in the majority Party, nobody who is not a member of a Party and selected by members of that Party can become Prime Minister. So in other words, if we ever had a case in the Bahamas where all 39 constituencies had an independent candidate running, and all 39 seats were won by Independents - then we could not lawfully under our Constitution have a Prime Minister.
Also, the PM appoints the majority of Senators - so the Senate is always on the same side. The PM also appoints the Governor General and justices of the courts.
This type of government (and here I'm not just talking about the current PM or the Party), cannot govern effectively. The temptations for dictatorial tendencies are too great. Everything is held in the hands of the "leaders". That's why whenever you go to a government office to apply for something and you get a list of the things you need to apply - when you return with ALL of those items, God help you if you meet a different clerk at the window. This is because there are no rules - only rulers. If that clerk is on vacation for 2 weeks - you would be best to walk out and return 2 weeks later, because the new "list of things" you will be given - or told that YOU forgot - will take you way more than 2 weeks to find.
Our entire Constitution needs to change. I cannot blame the MPs for following the rules. It's just that the rules say that Bahamians are dogs (just not using those exact words).
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