Opposition urges price controls amid soaring food costs

Opposition members have renewed calls for stronger price controls in the territory, arguing that unchecked price increases are placing sustained pressure on households already struggling with the cost of living.

Speaking during the budget debate in the House of Assembly, Opposition Leader Myron Walwyn said residents were facing rising prices on everyday items without any effective monitoring or intervention by the Trade Department. He told lawmakers that many families were running out of money well before the end of each month as food, electricity, water and rent costs continued to climb.

Walwyn said the problem was most visible in supermarkets and retail outlets, where prices for basic goods were increasing rapidly and inconsistently. He described situations in which identical items were sold at different prices from one store to another, and in some cases even cheaper at small corner shops than at the larger supermarkets supplying them. “Something has to be done,” he said.

He argued that competition alone was not keeping prices down in the territory and that government oversight was now necessary. Walwyn called for the establishment or strengthening of a price control or monitoring unit within the Trade Department to track mark-ups on essential goods and ensure fairness. “You need some price control unit somewhere to monitor what is happening. It’s needed,” he said.

Walwyn told the House that unchecked price increases were eroding people’s disposable income and damaging the wider economy. He warned that when prices rise without oversight, households are forced to cut spending elsewhere, hurting small businesses and slowing economic activity. “You are messing with people’s disposable income,” he said while adding that many residents earn fixed monthly incomes that cannot absorb constant price hikes.

He also questioned whether existing consumer protections were being enforced, suggesting that the lack of monitoring allowed some businesses to raise prices arbitrarily. Walwyn compared price oversight to fuel regulation, noting that consumers rely on authorities to ensure fairness and accuracy. “Somebody needs to roll up with a gallon bottle and say pump a gallon in here, let me see if you fill it up,” he said, to underline the need for checks and balances.

The Opposition Leader said rising food prices were making healthy eating increasingly unaffordable and were contributing to wider social and economic stress. He urged the government to take immediate steps to protect consumers, particularly lower-income households, as part of its responsibility to address bread-and-butter issues affecting daily life.