– replaces the $200,000 per household grant for smooth process
In a much-anticipated announcement on Wednesday, President Dr Mohamed Irfaan Ali revealed that the government will provide a one-off $100,000 cash grant to every citizen aged 18 and above.
The President explained that this measure is intended to minimise potential conflicts and administrative challenges that could have arisen from distributing the previously announced $200,000 cash grant to each household.
This adjustment follows the government’s decision to act on feedback received regarding the initial announcement.
“Over the past week, thousands of Guyanese have engaged me and members of my cabinet, providing extremely favourable feedback on the measures announced last Thursday…several persons have indicated to my government the complications they foresee in the implementation of this much welcomed benefit and the fear of being left out,” the President said.
Further, the President noted that the transition away from the payments being made per household to them being executed per adult (18 years and above), will greatly impact thousands of young people who may not yet be managing their households.
“This also addresses the many concerns of young people who may not yet have a family but thought…that they will not benefit from the household allocations because they were not yet the head of the household. This new initiative will now take into consideration and expand the benefit to those young professionals also,” Dr Ali explained.
The head of state said that this measure is in keeping with the government’s commitment to ensuring there are greater benefits for the Guyanese public. He said it also ensures the maintenance of a transparent and accountable system in the distribution of public funds.
Since assuming office, the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) government has been driven by a commitment to putting the welfare of Guyanese first.
A series of measures have been implemented to boost disposable income for Guyanese. Over 200 taxes and fees imposed by the previous government were removed, including VAT on water, electricity, and essential food items.
Additional measures include the removal of excise tax on fuel, saving consumers over $90 billion annually, raising the low-income mortgage loan ceiling, and eliminating taxes on internet services for residential and individual use.
Last year, the government allocated $5 billion towards cost-of-living relief, providing public servants, teachers, members of the disciplined services, and staff of semi-autonomous agencies and public enterprises with a $25,000 one-off cash grant. This initiative represented a $1.7 billion investment.