News
2024: A year of rising prices and shrinking wallets
View(s):By Kasun Warakapitiya
The looming fear of taxes has forced people to reconsider their plans for the upcoming year.
Despite celebrations and gatherings held this year, people were uncertain how they would manage to survive financially in 2024. And while public sector employees received a boost in income via the last budget, they, too, were unhappy as taxes have skyrocketed.
G.K. Asoka Samarakoon
The street lamps were burning throughout the festive season, and the roads of Colombo were lit up with Christmas decorations. But people were fearful of increased living costs fuelled by higher food, fuel, electricity, transport and gas prices. Some were worried about job security.
G.K. Asoka Samarakoon, a steel building contractor from Hatton, said the construction industry faced a bleak year with VAT, and other taxes imposed on materials will hit them directly. Eight employees working under him were planning to go abroad in 2024 as they found it difficult to survive financially with construction work.
“Ninety-five percent of construction work has been held back as the prices of the items and equipment have risen drastically,” Mr. Samarakoon said.
Itinerant vendors said they were concerned about the country’s plight and are focused on making as many sales as possible to tide over difficult times in 2024, when they expect costs to soar.
M.P. Ravichandaran sells “wadey” at the Colombo Fort public bus station. He said he had found it difficult to sell much, even during the bustling Christmas week. He hoped that things would improve. But he said that, in his heart, he knew making a living would be even more difficult in the coming days.
K.A. Naalini
Rajagiriya resident S. Gamage is a retired businessman who relies on the interest from his bank. But as they are no longer sufficient to meet his costs, he sells “dodol” to supplement the income. Although the country’s prevailing situation was hopeless, he believed voters would at least elect clean politicians who would reduce expenditure and provide relief to ordinary citizens.
Food and utility prices are already unbearable for many families. The enhanced VAT rate will cause a further hike. Negombo resident K.A. Naalini (49) said many medicinal drugs were also either unavailable or too expensive. One of her relatives passed away from cancer as the family could not get the medication at the correct time despite collecting money to buy it from the private sector, she said.
“We don’t have big hopes for the coming year,” she said. “We only hope that a capable man becomes president and changes the situation. If not, those who can go will leave the country, but the ones that remain will have a country with a high cost of living and insufficient medicines.”
Hewapathiranage Upali, a resident from Kamburupitiya in Matara, said that he took a security job in Colombo as he couldn’t provide for his family by farming. He changed his career in the hope of earning more money for his wife and children in 2024. In the previous year, farming failed because of fertiliser shortages. This year, farming inputs cost much more, and added taxes make it unviable as equipment prices will also go up.
The elderly have seen how the country has changed over the years. Today, one of their biggest concerns is medical costs in addition to daily expenditures. The price of everything has risen while pensions and income remain the same.
Jayasena Premaratne, 75, is a “kapuwa” of a “dewalaya”. He remembers eating meals for a few cents worth during the 1960s and watching in distress as prices rose over the years. Devotees even cut down on the oil they bring to light lamps at his temple and do not present as many offerings as before because they barely have money to sustain themselves, he said.
Food and utility prices are already unbearable for many families. Pix by Eshan Fernando
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