Region 7 $100K cash grant distribution begins

The Government has commenced the distribution of the $100,000 cash grant in Region Seven (Cuyuni-Mazaruni).
Between January 14-16, 2025, residents from Bartica, Itaballi, Kartabo, and Karrau Lower Mazaruni will be able to collect their cheques from designated locations outlined by the Finance Ministry.
For other villages, including Falmouth, Kaburi (72), Butakuri, 14 Miles Issano, Black Water, and Aranka, distributions will take place from January 17-27, 2025. The Ministry has established community centres, police stations, administrative offices, benabs, and landings as distribution points to ensure smooth delivery.
This initiative follows the Government’s approval of more than $84 billion in supplementary funds, of which $30.5 billion has been allocated to the $100,000 one-off cash grant programme. Announced by President Dr Irfaan Ali in October 2024, the initiative aims to provide financial support to all Guyanese citizens aged 18 and older.
Over 400,000 citizens have registered for the one-off cash grant initiative, and notably over 300,000 cheques being printed, 95,000 of which have already been distributed.
To date, senior citizens along with Ministries’ staff, teachers, members of the Disciplined Service and some communities in the hinterland have received their grants.
To ensure the integrity of the process, technical teams equipped with pre-programmed tablets have been dispatched to register eligible citizens. The registration process includes the verification of applicants’ data, followed by the issuance of cheques at the same locations where registration occurred.
Additionally, 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.

Private data safe
During his most recent press conference, Vice President Dr Bharrat Jagdeo had indicated a zero tolerance for any breaches to the Data Protection Act and has assured that private data of citizens will be safe.
At the time, Jagdeo was addressing one of the more prevalent fears around the $100,000 cash grant distribution – that of data breaches. Acknowledging that the programme’s rollout has not been without its flaws, Jagdeo nevertheless assured that persons should not be worried about their data in the hands of the Government.
“Some of them deliberately stoke… in many cases bad planning on the ground, to distribute the cheques. And has led to some difficulties among people. And that’s something we need to work on improving as a Government. And a lot of the officers who are doing this, need to do this with a bit more heart. They deliberately stoke skepticism about it.”
“Because they want to do that for political purposes. They think by creating an issue around its distribution, that you can negate the benefits of people receiving the grant. And somehow convert that, to a political benefit. Its all-public data. I don’t see a single bit of information there that anyone can use,” the Vice President said.
In August 2023, the Data Protection (Amendment) Bill 2023 was passed in the National Assembly to protect the privacy of personal data. The Act contains stiff penalties for any breaches by data controllers, that is the persons who determine the manner and purpose of which personal data is processed.
Additionally, it is a criminal offence for such officers to operate without being registered or without nominating a representative, carrying a fine of $10 million- or two months’ imprisonment.