Over 365,500 citizens registered for $100K cash grant – VP Jagdeo confirms

…says distribution commenced in some regions

Over 365,500 citizens 18 years and older have already registered for the Government of Guyana’s $100,000 cash grant initiative, according to Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo on Thursday.

The Vice President during his weekly press briefing revealed that in Region Nine (Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo), over 16,000 people have registered, with more than 90 per cent of cheques having already been distributed.
Similarly, Region One (Barima-Waini) has registered a comparable number of residents, with distribution currently underway. Region Eight (Potaro-Siparuni) has seen the registration of over 6500 individuals, while the figure for Region Seven (Cuyuni-Mazaruni) exceeded 12,000.
Distribution has begun in Region Eight, and the cheques for Region Seven are being processed. The Guyana Bank for Trade and Industry (GBTI) and the Bank of Guyana are collaborating with the Finance Ministry to help the Indigenous people cash their cheques.

However, Region Four (Demerara-Mahaica) has seen a total of 221,000 registrations, of which 156,000 have been verified. The verification process, the Vice President shared, is crucial for ensuring there are no duplications within the database.
“The distribution of the grant should hopefully commerce over the next few days and hopefully completed before the end of the year… once they are registered, [the team] still has to go and check the database to see there is no duplication.”
In addition, Jagdeo announced that approximately 50,000 public servants and members of the Disciplined Services have been registered, with cheques printed and distribution set to begin imminently.
“This should hopefully commence over the next few days and be completed before the end of the year,” according to the Vice President.
The pensioners’ cash grants are being issued in collaboration with the Human Services and Social Security Ministry, which is responsible for the distribution of old age pension. So far, the Vice President said 44,000 pensioners were registered, with some 27,000 cheques already printed.
Registration and distribution of the $100,000 cash grant will commence in the other regions soon.
The VP said registration remains ongoing to capture the people who were missed in the initial registration process. “This will happen in all of the regions even after we complete the main registration, because not everyone would be able to get registered in the period in which we visit that region or community so there will be a mop-up activity,” he explained.
Only recently, the Government had been granted approval for more than $84 billion in supplementary funds for projects that included the highly-anticipated $100,000 one-off cash grant initiative. Of this amount, $30.5 billion is for the commencement of the $100,000 cash grant initiative.
The Government’s $100,000 cash grant initiative was announced by President Dr Irfaan Ali in October and every Guyanese citizen 18 years and older will receive the payout.
Technical teams with pre-programmed tablets are being dispatched to gather persons’ data. The second stage is the verification of the registrants, followed by the cutting of cheques. A distribution schedule is then to be published, and these cheques are 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 got registered.
Furthermore, a photo of the applicant’s ID or passport is 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. (G1)