Cash grants will be available after verification process – Min Mustapha
Agriculture Minister Zulfikar Mustapha on Thursday met with groups of fisherfolk from along the Essequibo Coast, Pomeroon-Supenaam (Region Two) to discuss the $150,000 one-off relief grant that was recently announced by President Dr Irfaan Ali.
Fish farmers in one of the ponds along the Corentyne Coast
During the engagement, Minister Mustapha said since assuming office, the Government has been working to improve the lives of citizens.
He told those present that the Government will be making the funds available after the verification process is completed.
The Minister further related that although reports suggest that the catches have been improving, fisherfolk were still finding it difficult to afford basic household items for their families and that the grant will be able to assist with those needs.
President Ali had announced in May the rollout of one-off cash grants to the tune of $150,000, which will exclusively go to registered local fisherfolk, across the country.
The President announced the initiative while visiting fishermen at Windsor Forest on the West Coast of Demerara (WCD). He explained that this measure is intended as direct assistance to the thousands of persons who depend on the fishing industry to sustain them and their families.
“We’re announcing an initiative for every single person I identified just now all across the country, that is we’re going to help you with a one-off grant of $150,000 each. This [is] an immediate step that we are taking to make the indirect transfer to you, to assist you in addition to all that we’re doing to expand the industry.”
“We understand that at your household level you still have immediate needs and you still have some immediate help that you require. I’m talking to fisherfolk all across the country. We’ve assessed those needs because you have a Government that is not afraid of confronting,” Ali had said.
According to the President, his Government is not afraid of facing the fishing industry, listening to their concerns. He assured them that in good times or bad, the Government stands ready to listen to them.
