$100,000 cash grant distribution to start in Reg. 9 from Tuesday

See below the full release from the Ministry of Finance:

With thousands of persons already registering to receive Government’s $100,000 cash grant, the Government has announced further that the actual distribution of the cash grant in the form of a cheque will commence tomorrow (Tuesday, December 3, 2024) in Region Nine (Upper Takutu/Upper Essequibo).

The distribution process will commence at 10 am at the Tabatinga Sports Complex for residents of Lethem and St. Ignatius and will continue until December 6 for that area. For other villages in the Region, Government has announced as well that these will be listed along with their distribution schedule soonest. Registration for the cash grant in the commenced today in several Regions.However, Region Nine will be the first Region that will receive the grant as Government plans to complete the process as quickly as possible.

Government’s $100,000Cash Grant Initiative was announced by President Irfaan Ali in October last and every Guyanese citizen 18 years old and over will receive the payout. The administration has prioritized public servants and pensioners and over the last several days, registration schedules for National Insurance Scheme and Old Age Pensioners were disseminated to the public via the media, followed by schedules for other members of the public within the last two days.

Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo on Thursday last indicated during his weekly press conference that the initial distribution process of the $100,000 one-off cash grant is expected to see about 300,000 Guyanese receiving their cash grants before the end of 2024, while the remainder of persons should receive theirs in January, 2025 and onward.

“We had already explained that it will take us about five months to complete the task. We are trying to hurry this up so that we could at least get the public servants and the pensioners completed before the end of the year. We may be able to do that and then a number of other people who are registered,” he added. He also assured that every eligible Guyanese will receive the cash grant, as promised by Government. He added that the audit office will play an integral role in the verification and payment process since the administration wants to ensure that the process is transparent and that there is a verifiable system.

On Wednesday the National Assembly approved a $30 billion supplementary provision for the distribution of the cash grant and Government has outlined a four-step process for the initiative which begins with the registration exercise comprising each community having a registration schedule then technical teams with pre-programmed tablets will be dispatched to gather persons’ data. The second stage is the verification of the registrants with the next stage being the cutting of checks then distribution to persons 18 and above. Once this initiative is completed, $60 billion would have been placed in the hands of citizens across the country.