Good News; Guyanese Wait for Other News

By GHK Lall- Finally, there’s good news for Guyanese. Some of them only. The old people have been experiencing a fairly smoother process, using less time, to collect their 2026 pension books. I heard of this in Region Four, and more from Region Three. Congratulations to the Hon. Minister of Social Security, Dr. Vindya Persaud and her team for what has to be a significant improvement in recent times.

I take the leap of faith that the other regions across Guyana experienced an improvement in standards re pension book collection. For local information, when honorable is attached to Minister Persaud’s name, it’s neither formality nor figure of speech. In her case, it is meant, is relevant, notwithstanding warts and all. Not on her, I hasten to add, but what appears on her portfolio from time to time. On behalf of 75-76,000 elderly Guyanese, thanks again to the chief and staff at the Ministry of Human Services.

The other news is the not-so-good news that there has been no news from Pres. Ali on the state of the promised cash grant. Guyanese need it, Guyanese are bawling for it, and Guyana’s exuberant Excellency Ali did promise it. Oh yes, he did! So, let here be neither wiggling nor jiggling around a cash grant for the holidays. The 2025 holidays, as in this December, and not any in 2026. The absentee president, Dr. Jagdeo, did put his neck on a block: ‘if the president seh suh is suh.’ I tekkin it suh. So, what’s up with the cash grant, Dr. President?

Forget that ancient contract between leaders and peasants, i.e., when a man gives his word, he must honor it, whatever the price that has to be paid. Regrettably, what is becoming apparent is that Guyana’s Pres. Ali has his ideas about that, and his own unique way of going about that challenge. Matters are exacerbated by the fact that there is the small issue of money. According to the new PNC parliamentary leader, Dr. Terrence Campbell, it is tens of billions required, and to the tune of 10 short of a hundred billion. Now there are the horns of a dilemma on which is impaled Excellency Ali and his merry men (and more civilized women [largely]) in the PPP Govt. The dilemma goes like this.

The billions needed for the cash grant require a session in parliament. That is looking at the matter on the positive side. The other side of this dilemma, conundrum, is that there is the WIN man named Azruddin Mohamed waiting right there to pounce. What about the Leader of the Opposition (LOO) process/procedures being given a kickstart? To me, it looks like the whole opposition kit and caboodle are ready to jump into the middle of that extended dispute, which gets more-short tempered the longer that it is suspensed. Enough Guyanese voted for the PPP’s Mohamed Irfaan Ali to make it to the presidential chamber.

Not enough Guyanese voted for Azruddin Mohamed of We Invest in Nationhood (WIN) to make it to the presidential throne (imagine the bigger stigma, Mr. Nandlall), but enough did to give him a clear edge as LOO. So, what’s the holdup, bub? This issue should already have been dealt with, and I say the same holds true for the long-promised, much-anticipated, cash grant. If the PPP Govt can’t do that for the Guyanese people, then what can it do? More pointedly, and sharply, what can Guyanese trust the PPP and their president to do? What’s this, a comic book country run by comic book men, where the people are treated as though they are puppets on a string? That is, to be held up, given a good shaking up, and then sent up the creek without a paddle.

The mathematical logic is simple. No money, no cash grant. The Office of the President and other state storehouses should all have a few loose billions floating around; nobody but the principals aware of their existence (or their intended uses). The problem is that those are not enough for the cash grant. So, it is back to the future: no cash, no cash grant. What could be simpler to understand? And when there is no cash grant budget, then there is no nuthin, as they say in the USA. Moving to parliament for the passage of a Xmas cash budget comes with teeth. There is the man from WIN waiting to be LOO. Not to go to the LOO; but to be the LOO.