$200,000 cash grant distribution process should be finished in five months – Jagdeo 

Vice President Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo on Friday said the entire $200,000 cash grant distribution process will be completed in five months.

“We want to get the systems in place, so I would anticipate that within the next five months, we would complete the process,” Jagdeo said during a live briefing.

Jagdeo also outlined the criteria that will be used to ascertain how many households are eligible to receive the $200,000 one-off cash grant recently announced by President Dr. Irfaan Ali.

Eligible households will include stand-alone houses, tenancy apartments, condominiums and other dwellings in multi-space properties that are separate spaces.

The database from the Guyana Power and Light Inc (GPL) will be among the tools used to ascertain how many households there are in Guyana.

The VP added that an estimated 40,000 “secondary households” do not have electricity meters, and the government is working on devising a method to verify the eligibility of these households as well.

However, he said that even these households that do not have an electric bill, once deemed legitimate, are still eligible to get the grant.

Renters are also eligible, according to the VP, once they are able to present their contractual agreement with landlords.

Households in Amerindian communities will be verified through the village councils, which Dr Jagdeo said has been a reliable method historically.

Importantly, the government has said that the national audit office and the Ministry of Finance will establish protocols and mechanism for fool-proofing the process. It will be paid of by cheques, through direct bank account transfers and cash where applicable.