During a press conference on Thursday, Vice President (VP) Bharrat Jagdeo provided details on the intended process for distributing the recently announced $200,000 one-off cash grant to Guyanese households.
Jagdeo explained that the government’s intention is to ensure that every eligible household gets the cash grant and to ensure that the process is not abused. He underscored that determining eligibility and ensuring fairness in distribution would involve a verification process using existing systems like utility billing and community records.
Since the announcement was made on Thursday by President Irfaan Ali, several concerns were raised on what constitutes a household and who will be eligible for the grant.
Firstly, the Vice President noted that while the last census identified 264,000 heads of households, the government believes that the figure is more.
“You do have in a household, people who say, I cook my own pot. So, this is where it gets tricky,” Jagdeo said.
To ensure an accurate distribution, Jagdeo emphasised that utility billing databases, from the Guyana Power and Light (GPL) and Guyana Water Incorporated (GWI), would be instrumental in verifying households.
“So clearly, if you know someone is paying their electricity bill, that is going to be a household,” he said
Notably, he clarified that the utility billing process excludes certain regions that do not fall under GPL’s service, such as parts of Regions One, Seven, Eight, and Nine. For these regions he said particularly riverine and hinterland communities, the households will be verified through other means. He mentioned that hinterland communities would follow a different approach, involving village toshaos verifying households within their communities.
Other situations Jagdeo addressed are individuals who may have multiple properties and ensuring that landlords do not receive multiple grants.
“If I have five meters, I’m not going to get five households (grants)… So, if you have, for example, the landlord has four properties, and he’s paying the electricity bill, he would not be eligible for four grants,” Jagdeo assured.
For persons renting, the Vice President noted that once they can prove their tenancy, they will be eligible. He noted that the distinction aims to prevent abuse of the system while ensuring that legitimate renters’ benefit.
Moreover, the Vice President drew parallels with the COVID-19 cash grant distribution process, where primary households were tackled first. He added that the government will then open a process for claims from secondary households.
He cautioned that the process must be verified to avoid fraudulent claims. “The intent is for every eligible household to get it… You can’t just walk in and say, I’m a household and then get it too, you have to go through the verification process,” Jagdeo said.
Additionally, Jagdeo underscored that only Guyanese-headed households would be eligible for the grant. “If you are not a Guyanese household, you’re not getting this money…,” the Vice President stated.
He noted too that the government will be working with the Auditor General (AG) and others to ensure a fair system, free from abuse. Notably, the exact timeline for distribution was not announced as yet.
