FRIDAY, MAY 29, 2026
VOLUME 120, No. 22
Baby killer 20 years Page 4
Sandals training students Page 6
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School violence Page 9
Batik training in SVG Page 15
EC$1.50
Eli Slater again Page 28
TEMPORARY FISCAL MEASURES ANNOUNCED Petrol/diesel prices will go up but not to the extent that an unperturbed regime would have allowed.
Dr. Friday said that the emergency package was a fiscally responsible shield against extraordinary pressures. “The truth is, we are facing a difficult global reality; across the world, conflicts have caused disruptions,” Friday said. “They have caused disruptions in international shipping that has pushed up the price of fuel, of electricity costs, of cooking gas and of imported goods,” he continued. The government, Dr. Friday said, was intervening across the fuel, freight, electricity, and agricultural sectors to “cushion the blow for the average family” and protect the nation’s food budget.
Prices at the pump
Dr. Godwin Friday, Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, must have felt pleased in announcing his government’s measures, albeit temporary, to tackling the cost of living challenges. by DAYLE DA SILVA DR. GODWIN FRIDAY, Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, on Wednesday 27th May announced a package of fiscal measures, i.e. temporary tax reductions and waivers, aimed at stemming the rising cost of living resulting more recently from the rising cost of fuel due to the ongoing conflict in the Middle East. In outlining the proposed the 90-day initiatives,
$17.85, he added.
According to the Dr. Friday, between Those Electricity bills January and May this year, the price of Brent crude rose to over US$100 per barrel, and for a The prime minister announced adjustments in small developing state such as St Vincent and electricity costs saying that VINLEC’s fuel cost had the Grenadines, those price increases have risen by 29 percent in the first quarter of 2026. reached us quickly and have impacted the Continued on Page 3. consumers. Among the measures announced, Friday said that effective immediately, government was implementing a threemonth intervention measure to suppress the effects of the high fuel prices, by reducing both the excise tax and custom service charge on imported petroleum products by 50 percent. Therefore, the price at the pump is expected to increase, but not as much without the initiative he explained. Gas will move from EC$13,22 to $16.92 per gallon rather than the $18,82, and the price for diesel is expected to increase from EC$12.56 to $16.26 per gallon instead of $17.71 Friday said. The price for low-sulphur diesel will now VINLEC will be made to cut fuel surcharge to keep increase to EC$16.40 per gallon and not the electricity bills within manageable proportions.