Statement by His Excellency President Dr Mohamed Irfaan Ali on measures being implemented by the Government
October 16, 2024
My Fellow Guyanese:
Last Thursday, I announced a series of measures in keeping with my Government’s aim of increasing disposable income, creating better opportunities, and building prosperity for all of the People of Guyana.
As is always the case with such initiatives, my Government’s aim is to ensure ease of implementation, removal of barriers to access, and simplification of administrative procedures, always in the best interest of the population.
It goes without saying that, in the normal course of implementation, my Government ensures pre-and post-testing and analyses of every measure. These analyses are critical to ensure the greatest impact and highest level of efficiency in the delivery of services.
Over the past week, thousands of Guyanese have engaged myself and members of my Cabinet, providing extremely favourable feedback on the measures announced last Thursday, and tens of thousands have publicly expressed their welcoming of these measures.
Particularly, in relation to the announcement of a one-off cash grant of $200,000 to every household in Guyana, persons have indicated to my Government the complications they foresee in the implementation of this much welcome benefit and the fear of being left out.
It is the understanding of this fear, the understanding of the complexity they raised even within and among families, and the importance of feedback that we have received, including internal family conflict about access and distribution of the grant. We have seen, in recent days, a rush to transfer registration of utility meters and a rush to prepare tenancy agreements, all with the aim of establishing a distinct household, as well as other complications that may arise in administering this benefit.
Having regard to these challenges, whether real or perceived, I instructed last Friday that this measure be re-examined, with the aim of expanding the benefit while removing the challenges previously highlighted. I further asked that this reconsideration be guided by the following key principles:
- Reducing the burden of administering the benefit.
- Simplifying the procedures for accessing the benefit.
- Improving ease of verification.
- Minimising any potential conflicts that might arise, whether within the family or community.
- Ensuring an open, transparent, verifiable system of delivery.
- And, expanding the benefit.
Additionally, of paramount importance was ensuring equitable distribution amongst and within households and across the population at large.
In keeping with the above important tenets of this People’s Progressive Party/Civic Government that I have the privilege of leading:
I now wish to announce that, instead of the one-off cash grant of $200,000 to every household previously announced, my Government will now expand this benefit by providing a one-off cash grant of $100,000 to every citizen of Guyana who would have attained the age of 18 years, with the simple means of verification being possession of a valid national identification card and or a valid Guyanese passport.
This measure is expected to substantially increase the $60 billion previously allocated for the one-off household grant.
However, in the interest of fairness and openness and in the interest of ensuring that the widest possible benefit is given to the Guyanese population, we believe that this is the best course of action. As a responsible government, a government that understands that we have a responsibility to ensure everyone is included, it is important that we build a system that is robust in delivering this grant. Thus, the simplest way, and the most verifiable way, was the $100,000 for every Guyanese 18 years and above.
This also addresses the many concerns of young people who may not yet have a family but who thought in their discourse with us that they would not benefit from the household allocation because they were not yet the head of the household. This new initiative will now take into consideration those persons, and expand the benefit to those young professionals also.
Furthermore, it would be recalled that I also announced the abolition of tuition fees at the University of Guyana with effect from 1st January 2025. In response to feedback received, I now wish to announce that tuition fees will also be abolished at all Government technical and vocational training institutions, including all of the technical institutes: the Guyana Industrial Training Centre, the Carnegie School of Home Economics, and the Guyana School of Agriculture.
This measure will benefit in excess of 3000 persons.
These announcements are made in keeping with my Government’s efforts to ensure greater and equitable access to benefits, empowering and helping as many people as possible.
I thank you, and God bless you.
