Government should have offered increase in old-age pension rather than one-off grant -says AFC

In making the announcement Thursday evening, President Ali said the one-off cash grant will complement the other measures implemented by the Government to reduce the financial burdens pensioners face at a time when cost of living is increasing. But Chairman of the Alliance For Change (AFC), Catherine Hughes, MP, said while the Alliance is supportive of financial measures to assist the most vulnerable within society, it believes that it should be done objectively.

Government should have offered increase in old-age pension rather than one-off grant -says AFC

The Alliance For Change (AFC) has rejected the move by the Irfaan Ali Administration to offer old-age pensioners a one-off cash grant of $28,000 instead of a significant increase in the old age pension.

In making the announcement Thursday evening, President Ali said the one-off cash grant will complement the other measures implemented by the Government to reduce the financial burdens pensioners face at a time when cost of living is increasing. But Chairman of the Alliance For Change (AFC), Catherine Hughes, MP, said while the Alliance is supportive of financial measures to assist the most vulnerable within society, it believes that it should be done objectively.

“Although many, including pensioners might receive this announcement with jubilation, the Alliance For Change continues to reject the subjective, underhand distribution of one-off cash grants that continues to take place without a fair guarantee of equal distribution to all deserving and with the requisite checks and balances in place to avoid the corruption we have seen in so many of these programmes,” MP Hughes told reporters during a press conference today.

Pointing out that under the A Partnership for National Unity + Alliance For Change (APNU-AFC) Administration, old-age pension increased from $13,500 in 2015 to $20,500 in 2019 without oil resources, the Opposition Member of Parliament said with a booming oil and gas economy, Government can do much more than to offer pensioners $28,000.

“The AFC, therefore, finds it unacceptable, that with the windfall Guyana has received from our oil revenues and talks from the Government that we are the next Dubai of the world that pensioners would only receive $28,000, a little over a US$100 to live on for an entire month. The fact that in fashioning this small donation, this small cash grant, the Government did not see it fit to raise the pension base to ensure that any increase granted would not be a one-off but would be received every month, is deplorable and testimony of how little they in fact care,” MP Hughes said.

Asked what would be a fair sum to offer pensioners on a monthly basis, the Opposition MP said between $75,000 to $100,000.

AFC Chairman Cathy Hughes

She said as it is, the PPP/C’s cash grant programme entails the handing out of crumbs to citizens when today’s economy can afford so much more. MP Hughes said in the future, Government should use existing mechanisms within the public sector to distribute grants as against having their political operatives do so in communities.

Leader of the AFC, Khemraj Ramjattan also renewed calls for the Government to make public the list of names and addresses of all persons who would have benefited from the various categories of cash grants.

He said in the interest of transparency and accountability, the information should be placed on government websites for all to see.

“Let it be known to the public so that we can scrutinize, who and who are getting because right now, without the information on the website that we have been asking for we believe that there is massive discrimination on ethnic grounds. It’s like buying the votes because the PPP has tremendous problems at its support bases and what it is trying to do, is to hand out money,” Ramjattan said.

To date, Government has issued cash grants to school-aged children, persons living with disabilities, fisherfolks, public servants, sugar workers, and flood affected citizens.

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