Opposition again speaks of ‘conditions’ for the school cash grants

For the second time in less than a year, the opposition has said they would impose conditions, if elected to government, in the distribution of the “Because We Care” school cash grants – something which they canceled while in office from 2015-2020.

The latest statement to this effect was made by Leader and Presidential Candidate of the APNU, Aubrey Norton Sunday during the party’s rally in Linden, Region Ten (Upper Demerara-Berbice).

“We are going to do cash transfers to parents and we don’t care what they [the PPP/C] say. We don’t want to give you it [cash grants] for you to do your nails. We ain’t want you use it for your hair,” Norton said.

To ensure this does not happen, Norton had suggested earlier this year that “conditions” would be attached to the issuing of the school cash grants.

Among those conditions was the attendance records of students – a position which was publicly rebuked by Education Minister, Priya Manickchand.

Norton had said that if the APNU was elected to office, it would not give out the cash grant “willy-nilly,” and that the APNU would ensure “it is linked to things like a child’s attendance at school”.

That position received widespread condemnation from parents, and even President Irfaan Ali.

The President had described the APNU’s position as “barefaced crookery” since it was that party, while in office between 2015 and 2020, that removed the same cash grant which was $10,000 at the time.
Upon returning to office in 2020, the Ali-led PPP/C government immediately reinstated the grant and increased it over the years to $55,000 per child.

In October of last year, executive member of the AFC David Patterson had also suggested that women would use cash grants on their hair and nails.

“They [the government] will bring Vybz Kartel, the World Boss, and the people that been complaining and saying that how things hard will take that same entire $100,000, new hair, new nails,” Patterson had said at an AFC meeting in New Amsterdam, Berbice.

He was at the time referring to the $100,000 cash grant provided by the government to every adult Guyanese.

Patterson also received public backlash for his comments which many described on social media as “distasteful” and “insensitive”.

Meanwhile, the PPP/C in its re-election bid has promised to increase the cash grant even further, although the exact amount has not been disclosed.

Guyanese will head to the polls on September 1 to elect a new government.