No need to rush distribution sites – Finance Minister to citizens on cash grant

…says Govt to look into cases where cheques are unavailable

As the distribution of the $100,000 per adult cash grant exercise resumes across the country, Finance Minister Dr Ashni Singh is urging citizens not to “rush” the various distribution centres countrywide and that persons whose cheques are unavailable will be catered for, including in a second distribution round if necessary.
During an exclusive interview with this publication, the Minister in urging persons not to rush the cash grant distribution centres, pointed out that citizens also have the option of waiting until the second and even third day. He noted that there is no need for everyone to turn up at the centre on the first day, since their cheques are going nowhere.
“In each location, as people would have seen, there are multiple days assigned for the distribution. So, there is absolutely no necessity for everybody to go to these distribution centres in a rush, with any fear that their cheque is not going to be available,” Dr Singh said.
“If you want to go on the first day fine, you may find that you have to wait. But, if you see four or five days allocated to your community, you may very well decide if you want to wait until the second day or third day,”
Appealing for persons to exercise a bit of patience, Dr Singh noted the massive effort that has gone into this exercise. He urged persons not to become disrespectful just because of perceived delays.
“This exercise has been announced by the President and I came to parliament and obtained the resources for the budget. But its being implemented by ordinary Guyanese people, including public servants. We have to respect the effort they’ve made and the magnitude of the task and how much work they’ve gotten in a short space of time.”
“I understand everybody wants their cash grant, but I’m appealing not to be disrespectful because you don’t want to wait another day or two days. We want to get this exercise over as quickly as possible too, but please respect the effort being made by several, hardworking Guyanese people, just like all of us,” he said.
For citizens who have not yet seen their communities’ schedules, the Minister has also urged them not to panic, assuring that every single area will be published. The Finance Minister further addressed cases whereby citizens would turn up at a distribution site and their cheque is not available.
“There is no necessity to panic. If you have registered and the system is showing you are registered and the cheque is not available, we have people at the centres who will make a note and we will investigate and find your cheques and give it to you,” Dr Singh explained.
“Go to the distribution centre and find out, there’s a first layer. You go, you check at a desk, is there a cheque for me. If there’s a cheque for me, you join the line or sit in a waiting area and uplift your cheque. If there isn’t a cheque for you, there’s another desk you can go to where your name will be registered. You will either be registered for the first time or a record will be made.”
Schedules regarding the distribution of the $100,000 one-off cash grant for Regions Two, Three, Four, Five, Six, and 10 have already been published. Prior to that, the Ministry of Finance had simultaneously prepared those schedules and completed the verification process for persons who have already registered.
Last month, the Committee of Supply approved the allocation of over $40 billion to support the cash-grant distribution. Of this amount, $30 billion will be disseminated to the 300,000 additional citizens aged 18 and older. Some 121,000 Guyanese have already received their grants.