(CMR) Barbadians will pay the same price for diesel and gasoline at the pump over the next five months, with the Government set to absorb any increase over the indicated prices, Prime Minister Mia Mottley has announced.
Mottley on Monday announced there will be a cap on fuel prices from 19 August through 31 January 2023, with gasoline to retail at $4.48 per liter and diesel at $4.03 per liter. If prices fall below the cap, the savings will be passed on to consumers, Nation News reported
The Prime Minister said the decision was made with the view that the Barbadian public needed to be shielded from the global rising cost of fuel.
“We believe that we will manage that process, but that for the consumer, you have to have some level of predictability. For those whose living depends on it, whether you are public service vehicle operators, taxi operators, fishermen, whoever you are, we are going to cap that price at the pump so as to give you that area of predictability and we are going to do that between now and next January 31st,” she stated
It was also announced that the capping of the Value Added Tax (VAT) on crude oil at US$80 a barrel would be extended to at least 31 January, leading to a decrease of 26 cents per liter on diesel and 22 cents per liter on gasoline, according to Nation News.
Some politicians across the Caribbean commended Mottley's decision to cap fuel costs. Leader of the opposition People's National Party in Jamaica Mark Golding, who has criticized the Jamaican Government for its handling of the economic crisis, said Mottley's decision is an example of what can be done.
“This is what cushioning the crisis looks like, as it regards the rapid hike in gas prices this year. The JA government's paltry “targetted” effort is simply inadequate,” he tweeted Monday.
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