In a fiery rebuttal during his Tuesday night talk show, Attorney General Anil Nandlall dismissed calls from the political opposition to enshrine the government’s cash grant distribution into legislation, calling the suggestion “nonsensical” and driven by political point-scoring rather than substance.
The call comes following the government’s decision to provide cash grants to every Guyanese citizen aged 18 and over, a move that has attracted widespread support since its announcement.
Nandlall, in his remarks, argued that making the distribution of cash grants a legal obligation would limit the government’s flexibility in responding to changing economic conditions.
“They want to make it into legislation, but I don’t understand what exactly you would legislate. You’re talking about distributing a cash grant. What part of that needs to be codified into law?” Nandlall questioned the logic behind such a proposal.
The Attorney General pointed out that the government has been offering various forms of direct financial assistance for years without needing to legislate these actions.
He highlighted examples such as school uniform subsidies, pensioner benefits, and assistance with electricity and water bills, none of which were enshrined in law.
“We’ve been distributing uniform vouchers, subsidies to pensioners, and even cash grants for schoolchildren for over 15 years, and none of those were ever put into legislation,” he explained.
Nandlall accused the opposition of trying to “take ownership” of a policy that they previously rejected.
“The very same people who now want to claim credit for direct cash transfers were the ones who, when in office, abolished similar grants and programmes,” he said.
Further elaborating on the opposition’s alleged hypocrisy, Nandlall pointed to their pre-election promises regarding university tuition fees, which they pledged to reduce but instead increased by nearly 80 per cent once in power.
“We’re now making education free for thousands of students and offering scholarships across the globe. That’s another form of direct cash transfer,” he argued.
The Attorney General also rejected the opposition’s call for legislation on the grounds that it would introduce unnecessary rigidity into government policy.
He warned that putting such a measure into law could lead to complications if circumstances changed, such as a downturn in oil revenues or other economic shocks.
“What happens if next year we don’t have the money to pay?” he questioned.
“You’d be stuck with a law that could be violated, and every year we’d have to amend the law to suit the situation. It just doesn’t make sense.”
The cash grant distribution is part of a broader government initiative aimed at using the country’s burgeoning oil wealth to address social issues and infrastructure needs.
