President Irfaan Ali on Thursday stopped short of confirming whether Guyanese will receive the long-promised Christmas cash grant he touted during the 2025 election campaign, instead urging citizens to move beyond what he dismissed as a narrow fixation on “just a cash bonus.” His remarks come amid growing public impatience and rising frustration over what many view as yet another unfulfilled campaign promise—one that helped secure votes and now risks being seen as a breach of trust at a time when citizens expected a meaningful share of the nation’s oil wealth this holiday season.
“Our government has always delivered. I have said that there are a series of initiatives that I’ll be announcing. And whilst you may restrict your thoughts to just a cash bonus, this government has a very elaborate agenda for the upliftment of your life,” Ali told Stabroek News on the sidelines of the swearing-in ceremony for regional chairs and vice chairs at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre.
While the President framed the proposed measures as part of a broader prosperity agenda—including improved healthcare, access to education, home ownership opportunities, reduced interest rates, and collateral-free business loans—many see the Christmas cash grant as a direct and immediate measure to ease rising living costs.
Fueling this pressure is presumptive Opposition Leader and We Invest In Nationhood (WIN) party leader, Azruddin Mohamed, who has been publicly counting down the days since Ali’s campaign promise. In a widely circulated social media post, Mohamed wrote:
“WIN demands that the PPP honour their promises. On August 26, President Ali assured the people of Guyana that ‘We will have a beautiful Christmas,’ indicating that a cash grant would be provided for the holiday season. On October 2, Vice-President Jagdeo stated that ‘whatever the President said on the campaign trail will be done.’ However, no announcement has been made to date.”
The government’s mixed signals have further complicated public expectations. In September, Minister of Natural Resources Vickram Bharrat dismissed cash transfers as a “failed model” that would encourage dependency and “drag Guyana into economic and social decline,” adding that the country risked becoming “poorer than where we start from… a country with people who are not educated… who are not working… just sitting back and waiting on their cash transfer.”
Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo later contradicted that stance, stating on October 2 that the PPP/C government would fulfil its campaign promise regarding Christmas cash support. Yet, with just weeks before Christmas, no such commitment has materialised.
In the absence of a definitive announcement on a nationwide Christmas cash grant, the government has instead pointed to a series of targeted interventions.
Earlier this month, President Ali confirmed a one-off $150,000 payment for fisherfolk and a $2.7 billion support package for rice farmers. He also pledged that forthcoming assistance will extend to “every category” of vulnerable group, including the elderly, persons with disabilities, women, children, and small businesses.
Yet the central issue remains unresolved. Ordinary households are still waiting to hear whether they will receive the promised Christmas cash transfer. With the holiday season rapidly approaching and cost-of-living pressures intensifying, public frustration continues to grow. The PPP government now faces a credibility test—not only on whether it will honour a widely broadcast campaign pledge but on whether its approach to social support is coherent, consistent, and responsive to the needs of the wider population.
