300,000 persons should receive $100K cash grant before year-end – VP

…as registration, distribution to roll over into 2025

As registration of citizens continues for the $100,000 cash grant initiative, Vice President Dr Bharrat Jagdeo has revealed that only about 300,000 persons will receive their grants before the end of the year.
“The technical team has said that they can get about 300,000 persons registered before the end of the year…They told me they can cut about maybe 20,000 cheques per day,” Jagdeo told a news conference on Thursday.
He reminded that he already explained that the entire registration and distribution process should be completed in about five months.
“Not everyone will get it before Christmas,” Jagdeo said, but explained that the extra cash “might come in good after the Christmas.”
The Government is currently registering public servants and pensioners, after which the wider population would be targeted. Jagdeo explained that once this database has been established, the distribution of any future grants from the Government would become easier.
On Wednesday, the National Assembly approved a $30.5 billion supplementary provision for the distribution of the cash grant to every citizen 18 years and above.
An efficient four-step process governs this initiative. The first step is the registration exercise. Each community will have a registration schedule, essentially a list of dates, times, and locations that will serve as hubs for registration.
Technical teams with pre-programmed tablets would be dispatched to gather persons’ data. The second stage is the verification of the registrants, followed by the cutting of cheques. A distribution schedule would then be published, and these cheques would be disbursed in the same locations where registration occurred.
To register, individuals must present their valid National Identification Cards (ID) or valid passports. Photocopies will not be accepted. These official documents are the only acceptable forms of identification used to confirm that the applicant is a Guyanese citizen aged 18 or older, making them eligible to receive the cash grant.
During registration, a photo of the applicant will be taken to verify their physical presence and ensure that the person who collects the cash grant is the same individual who registered.
Additionally, a photo of the applicant’s ID or passport would be taken to verify that the information on the document matches the person registering. These measures seek to prevent any attempts to defraud the system or manipulate the process.
Senior Minister within the Office of the President with responsibility for Finance and Public Service, Dr Ashni Singh, recently explained that Government would not force anyone to have their photos taken.
“We are not, of course, compelling anybody to have their picture taken. You do have the option not to have your picture taken, but if you do exercise your right to not have your picture taken, you will not be registered,” Dr Singh had contended. (G11)