…says database will be used for future cash grant distributions
The government has made it clear that even as the registration and distribution of the $100,000 cash grant continues in Guyana, there will be no such service provided to eligible Guyanese who are overseas.
Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo emphasised this point during his press conference on Thursday, explaining that persons have been questioning him on whether Guyanese living overseas will be able to register for the cash grant.
“Let me say again for people overseas. They’re asking me if they can go to the consulate to register. If we’ll have a desk in Queens or Brooklyn or Toronto to get them registered. The answer is no. We made it clear that you have to register in Guyana and collect your cheque in Guyana.”
“Whilst Guyanese living abroad are eligible, we’re not going to be conducting registration exercises abroad. That will have to be done right here in Guyana. And they will have to present themselves physically to do that. They can’t come with authorisation from someone else to collect money on their behalf,” Jagdeo made clear.
The vice president also spoke about the actual registration process, noting that the government is currently focusing on five regions. Jagdeo called for patience, explaining that everyone will be captured and that no one, even those working in mining camps in the hinterland or public servants who missed initial registration, will be left out.
“The activity started in earnest and the Ministry of Finance which is tasked with its implementation, has rolled this out in several regions. The target regions at this point in time are Regions one, seven, eight and nine and region four. We will confine our activities to these five regions for the next month and then, move on to the other regions.”
“So, I just want to say to people from other regions. You will be registered, but it will be after we’ve completed the registration in these regions. You will receive the cash grant, its just a matter of time. So please be patient,” Jagdeo said.
He also explained that the Finance Ministry has set up a feedback process, which will allow for improvements to the system. According to Jagdeo, the ministry is trying to smoothen the process of distribution as much as possible.
“They have substantially completed the distribution process in Region nine. And already started distributing cheques there. They’ve substantially completed the exercise in Region one and eight. The schedule for region seven will be announced shortly. And the schedules for Region four, east bank, east coast and Georgetown, are all out at this point in time.”
“So, we ask people to have some patience. We will not have to do this again in the future, when I’m sure in the future there will be additional cash grants. The registration exercise now will allow us to have a proper database, so the next round, it will be easier for that to happen, whenever it comes in future years.”
The VP also explained that persons who miss the registration period for whatever reason will not be left out, acknowledging that this may have happened in a few cases back when the $25,000 COVID cash grant distribution was done.
“If we have completed say 95 or 96 per cent of a region who were registered and we get the cheques in their hands, (for) the five or four per cent remaining we can set up a mechanism for them to be registered and they too will receive their cheques,” Jagdeo said.
“So I want people to understand that even if they miss the registration exercise taking place, they’re not going to miss out on the resources. This happened a bit when we did the cash grant. Some households missed out on it because they were not there to collect the money when persons were collecting it. I want to assure those individuals they will not (miss out).”
On the matter of shut-ins, that is people who are immobile whether through old age or sickness, the Vice President assured that these people would also be catered for. According to him, this will likely include home visits to ensure they are registered.
“We will have to find a way, I guess once the bulk of the people have been registered, to go and visit people to do the ‘shut ins’ so we may have to have a programme where we’re notified where they are and just go at home and register them.”
The government’s $100,000 Cash Grant Initiative was announced by President Dr. Irfaan Ali in October and every Guyanese citizen 18 years old and over, with valid ID or passport, will receive the payout.
The initial distribution process of the $100,000 one-off cash grant is expected to see about 300,000 Guyanese receiving their cash grants before the end of the year, while the remainder of persons should receive theirs next year. (G3)
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