Taxi operators deserve more than icy mints

THE EDITOR, Madam:

The Jamaican icy mints are a favourite hard candy. However, it is an insult for the Office of Utilities Regulation (OUR) to offer private operators of public transportation across the island three icy mints, or around $15 to $20, as fare increase, after denying them an increase over the last seven years.

I was of the opinion that the OUR “will provide a pricing mechanism for consumers using private vehicles that is in line with the reality of Jamaica’s cost of living”. However, they seem to live in a glass bubble outside the nation’s economic realities.

We keep fooling ourselves into believing that the Jamaican dollar unit is divided into cents, but such coins were withdrawn from circulation, forcing all business financial transactions to round off to the nearest dollar.

The further removal of not only cents, but $5, $10 & $25 coins from general circulation in 2018 was due to frequent and uncontrolled devaluation, which is still occurring in Jamaica. This which has dramatically eroded the purchasing power of consumers, making them poorer, despite the opinion of the Bank of Jamaica, which argued that “a review by the central bank indicates that between 2005 and 2016, there was a drastic decline in the use of these specific coins”. (No ‘rounding tax’ from demonetising small coins, The Gleaner, October 24, 2017). The decline in use of these specific coins by the people was due to the reality that they had no purchasing value due to the Government’s high-inflation policies.

The Government and the OUR are not expecting consumers to pay operators of private vehicles with candies, nor should these operators use icy mints for purchasing gasolene and auto parts or pay the toll fee.

DUDLEY C. MCLEAN II

Email: dm15094@gmail.com