On my evening walk, I overheard a mother telling her daughter, “Why did you drink the milk? You will have none for your cornflakes in the morning.”
My heart skipped a beat. Such a simple statement, yet it exposed the painful reality facing many families in Trinidad and Tobago. When a mother has to worry about whether there will be enough milk for her child’s breakfast, something is seriously wrong with our society.
On my weekly grocery trips, I have also observed the growing struggle of ordinary citizens to afford basic food items. Families are being forced to make difficult choices about what they can afford, while pensioners and low-income households struggle to make ends meet, some shoppers using baskets instead of trolleys whilst shopping.
In my Budget letter, I called on the Government to REMOVE VAT ON FOOD ITEMS. This is not a luxury or a political favour; it is a necessary measure to provide immediate relief to struggling households.
The Government must stop treating the cost-of-living crisis as just another statistic. Food, electricity, water, transportation and healthcare are essential needs, not luxuries. Relief must reach the people who need it most.
We must ask ourselves: what is the value of economic policies if ordinary citizens cannot afford to put food on the table?
A country cannot prosper when its people are struggling to survive. It is time for action, not promises.
Gordon Laughlin,
Westmoorings
