Opposition wants to oversee $100K cash grant distribution

While it has no objection to the Government expanding the $100,000 one-off cash grant to overseas-based Guyanese who are in the country, the PNC-led Opposition wants to have oversight of the distribution exercise to ensure transparency and equity.

On Thursday, Vice President Dr Bharrat Jagdeo announced that Guyanese living overseas who are here during the distribution of the $100,000 cash grant can also benefit from this initiative once they have the necessary documentation to prove their citizenship.

At a press conference on Friday, Opposition Leader Aubrey Norton had shared his views on members of the diaspora being able to access the cash grant.

“The diaspora is very supportive of us as a political party and we will never be against the diaspora… We are not opposed to [overseas-based] Guyanese benefiting from anything in Guyana. Of course, we expect it to be structured, we expect it to be transparent and [that] there is accountability,” the Opposition Leader posited.

Despite supporting the diaspora in getting the cash grant, Norton, in the same breath, however, questioned the motive behind extending the cash grant initiative to persons living overseas.

“In the first case, the Government said that this cash grant was to help Guyanese with the high cost of living. It is unimaginable that they were referring to Guyanese from the diaspora who were at home at the time of the distribution and therefore were not experiencing the high cost of living,” Norton noted.

The Opposition Leader believes that adding members of the diaspora to the group of beneficiaries without any structure is opening up room for corruption.

“This scheme to pay people in the diaspora is just another scheme to facilitate PPP corruption… Let’s assume a Guyanese didn’t come home in 10 years and they happen to be here during the [cash] grant and they have their ID card from 10 years ago, then they will access it. And then there will be Guyanese who have been coming home regularly and contributing [to the local economy] who might not come during the period and they cannot access it. So, there is no structured approach,” he contended.

On this note, Norton pointed out that one way to avoid any corruption in this cash grant initiative is to allow the Opposition oversight of the distribution process.

“The Opposition is calling on the PPP to use a similar system such as in the GECOM (Guyana Elections Commission) registration process. That is, the Opposition must have a Scrutineer when the payment is being made to verify each registered Guyanese receiving the cash grant. This will go a long way in ensuring transparency and accountability and avoid a repeat of the corruption and discrimination that marred the Covid-19 cash transfer, and other cash transfers,” he posited.

Already, Vice President Jagdeo has stated that the distribution of the cash grant would be overseen by the Office of the Auditor General (AG) and there are efforts ongoing by a technical team to establish a robust system that would ensure transparency and accountability in the distribution exercise.

He disclosed that the Finance Ministry, in collaboration with other state agencies, is currently developing a mobile application for persons to register for the much-anticipated $100,000 one-off cash grant so that there is a “seamless” process.

“The App would have some compulsory fields people will have to fill up before the cheque is processed; so, name, address, phone number, passport/ ID number. They’re building a geolocator so you can know where people are,” he noted.

The geolocator will ensure that eligible persons are in Guyana.

The Vice President made it clear that overseas-based Guyanese are eligible for the grant once they possess a National Identification Card or a local passport, and must be in Guyana to uplift the money. He added too that there will be no proxy system for those who are not in the country to cash in on the grant.

“The grant will not be paid overseas. We have no intention of going to New York or Toronto to register people, they have to be in Guyana to register here and they will be eligible as Guyanese, provided they have the requisite document to prove such,” Jagdeo told reporters at his press conference.

In addition to removing the residency requirement for receipt of the cash grant, the Government also extended the age eligibility. Initially, that cutoff age was set at January 2024. But now, Guyanese who are 18 years and older by January 2025 are qualified to receive the one-off payment.