“Timely intervention” – GCOPD on one-off bonus payment for PWDs

President Dr Irfaan Ali and his Government have received praise from the Guyana Council of Organisations for Persons with Disabilities (GCOPD) for the recent announcement of a one-off $35,000 cash bonus payment for persons with disabilities (PWDs).
A total of 19,000 persons on the public assistance register stand to benefit from this. The monies will be paid out next month.
“The cash grant is a timely intervention because we know that almost every day when you go to the supermarket or you go to the market, the price of food goes up. The cost of living for the past year, two years, has been on an upward trajectory,” GCOPD’s Programme Manager Ganesh Singh stated on Friday last on the sidelines of the launch of the second phase of the organisation’s Orientation and Mobility programme for the blind and visually impaired.

He explained that while people with disabilities are “feeling the squeeze” like everyone else, it’s more acute for them because most of them are jobless.
“So their disposal income is very, very limited. This cash grant during Christmas will definitely go a far way in helping those persons to not just get their daily needs for everyday survival but at the same time get some of the things associated with Christmas.”
“I want to say thank you to the President for ensuring that persons with disabilities are one of the beneficiaries of this programme,” Singh remarked, expressing gratitude to the Head of State for this gesture.
Among other benefits, people with permanent disabilities receive monthly financial help until they are eligible for pensions. Additionally, the Government offers free assistive devices to promote their involvement in routine job, school, and life activities.
President Ali announced one-time bonuses earlier this month for a number of citizen groups, including public service employees, pensioners, and those with disabilities.
All public employees and pensioners will get a $25,000 one-time bonus starting in December 2023. Approximately 67,000 public employees will gain from this, including teachers, employees of semi-autonomous organisations, and members of the Disciplined Services.
Meanwhile, a total of 72,000 pensioners will benefit. “These one-off bonus payments will benefit almost 160,000 persons and increase their disposable income by over $4.1 billion,” the Head of State said.
There will be more announcements from the President about public servants’ pay hikes.