“Because We Care” initiative: APNU/AFC refused to distribute cash grants – Manickchand blasts Norton

Education Minister Priya Manickchand has slammed Opposition Leader Aubrey Norton, following his recent remarks about the government’s cash grant program, which was introduced by the Peoples Progressive Party (PPP) administration in 2014, but scrapped when the APNU/AFC entered office in 2015.
The education minister expressed her point on her Facebook page on Thursday, in response to Norton’s assertion that the cash grant is not a gift, but money that rightfully belongs to all Guyanese.

The minister highlighted that the funds belonged to the people and were withheld when APNU/AFC was in power.
According to Norton, “That ‘cash grant’ is not a gift; it’s your money. Every Guyanese is entitled to a fair share of our country’s resources. The PPP/C wants you to thank them for handing out tens of thousands, while billions are siphoned off to their friends, family, and favorites.”
He continued, “Let’s be clear: those grants are not gifts; they’re your money. All of Guyana’s resources belong to its people. From Day One, we will ensure that you, your children, and your children’s children benefit through a structured cash transfer system—not ad hoc handouts.”
In response, Manickchand described Norton’s comments as brazen and hypocritical.
“But on this issue—he barefaced,” she said.
“It was your money too, my friends, when his party refused to give it to you from 2015 to 2020. They didn’t even have to come up with the program. The PPP/C started it and left it there for them.”
She added that not only was the program discontinued, but it was replaced with nothing of equal benefit.
“They snatched it from you and replaced it with nothing. At that time, it was costing $1.6B. When they took this away, they increased their dietary allocation by $1.6B… so it wasn’t that they didn’t have the money. It’s just that they didn’t want you to have it,” Manickchand stated.
In November 2024, when challenged to account for the APNU/AFC’s scrapping of the cash grant, the current leader of the AFC, Nigel Hughes, in a letter to the editor said that “decisions about the cash grant were taken within the broader framework of fiscal management.”
The “Because We Care” cash grant initiative was first introduced in 2014 at a value of $10,000 per student in the public education sector, however, it was discontinued under the previous APNU/AFC administration.
The initiative was re-introduced in 2020 when the PPP returned to office. In addition to the grant being increased to its present value of $50,000, it has been expanded to include students in the private education sector.
The $50,000 is distributed alongside the $5,000 uniform voucher grant; this means each student is entitled to a total of $55,000.
This year, $11 billion has been allocated in the 2025 budget for the distribution of the grant to 205,000 children in public and private schools nationwide.