Photos must be taken during registration process for $100,000 cash grant – Finance Minister

As part of a comprehensive process of distributing the $100,000 cash grant, Finance Minister Dr. Ashni Singh on Tuesday said persons must have their photo taken during the registration process.

“We are not of course compelling anybody to have their picture taken, they do have the option not to have your picture taken but if you do exercise your right to not have your picture taken, you will not be registered,” Dr Singh told reporters at the sidelines of an event at the Pegasus Hotel in Kingston, Georgetown.

He further explained the process for the grant involves four key steps.

The first is registration where schedules will be published for every community, detailing dates, times, and locations.

A technical team equipped with pre-programmed tablets will visit communities nationwide to capture data electronically. Citizens are urged to look out for the schedules specific to their areas.

The second step once registered will be verification to eliminate duplication and ensure validation of the citizen registered.

This step, Dr Singh explained, is being expedited through an app designed to scan ID cards.

After verification, cheques will be issued to eligible recipients.

The fourth step will be the distribution of the cheques at the centres where persons would have registered.

The Finance Minister assured citizens that efforts are being made to ensure the process runs as quickly as possible. Public servants will be registered through ministries, while private-sector employees and homemakers will be registered in their communities.

A request for $30 billion was made to the National Assembly on Monday by Dr. Singh. This is part of the $84.5 billion supplementary funding.

Asked about the timeline for everyone to receive the grant, the minister responded “Our aim is to capture as many people as possible.”