Discussion on Having Community Stores with Cheaper Goods for the Vulnerable

Dolores Balderamos-Garcia

As part of the government’s effort to discourage price gouging, Cabinet also discussed the possibility of establishing cooperative stores where food items would be sold at cheaper prices than what they are currently being sold for, and these would be made available to the more vulnerable members of society. Minister Balderamos-Garcia is part of the sub-committee that is engaged in looking at this initiative.

Dolores Balderamos-Garcia, Minister of Human Development

“We’re going to be looking at the possibility of whether people can maybe through the credit union or through the public service, um, belong to maybe what you call like a membership store, like the Costco in Chetumal and these places. So that if you’re a member, you can take advantage of lower prices, but that would mean that government would have to have a stock. Of of food items that we could offer at a lower price, not to be competing with the private sector, but to be offering to people who needed the most the ability to maybe access that dinner chicken sausage for $1.25 as opposed to $2.50. So please, nothing has been decided as yet. But again, we will be looking carefully into it. And I believe we’re to report back in around the middle of September.”