Opposition Leader warns Government against discriminatory distribution of cash-grant; Calls for long term measures to address cost-of-living

Leader of the Opposition, Aubrey Norton, today urged Guyanese to cash-in on the one-off $200,000 cash grant, noting that it is their money. However, he warned the Government that such a piecemeal approach, will not reduce the cost of living nor will it take people out of poverty.

At his weekly press conference today, Mr. Norton, while underscoring the importance of having a more comprehensive approach that includes scheduled cash transfers, said the ruling People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) fell short of a proposal made by the Opposition in 2022, which would have seen Guyanese households receiving $300,000 to cushion the steep rise in cost of living in addition to other benefits.

At the time, the Opposition had argued that with the windfall from oil resources amounting to just over US$300M, it should be fairly and justly distributed among Guyanese households to the tune of $300,000 each.

“Guyanese people deserve much more than what was offered by the government yesterday. However, they must see the cash transfers as their entitlement and not as money that belongs to the PPP. These transfers and much more could have been allocated to the people of Guyana years ago,” the PNCR Leader said.

Alluding to the fact that budget 2024 included no such provisions, Norton submitted that the move by the Administration to offer the one off-payment is politically motivated, and could be overshadowed by acts of corruption.

He said Government must do all in its power to ensure that the distribution is fair, and done in a transparent and accountable manner.

“It is important to state here that the government must ensure that the cash transfer is done properly and fairly. Guyanese will recall that the $25,000 COVID 19 transfers were filled with discrimination and lack of accountability. Recall that many Guyanese still have their pink slip and have been unable to collect their cash grant,” Norton said.

He said it is important for the Administration to clearly outline what constitutes a household, adding that the transfers must be conducted by non-partisan government workers.

Hoping to unseat the PPP/C Government come 2025 when election is held, Mr. Norton said his party would ensure that social policies including cash transfers, are implemented in a systematic manner to the benefit of all Guyanese.

“Our approach would emphasize monthly or otherwise scheduled payments over the PPP’s one-off and sporadic style of payments. By making our payments on a regular basis, citizens will benefit from the predictability of this income and can therefore plan their investment, savings and expenditure decisions. Regular payments can also be used as collateral for bank loans. In the PPP model this cannot happen,” the PNCR Leader explained.

He said payments will be based on a calculation of a livable income for households of different sizes, composition, regions, and other circumstances.

According to him, his party would ensure all households receive a livable income through wages, cash transfers, subsidies, tax allowances, business profits, and other sources of income. Initial calculations put this income around $300,000 per month on average for a family of four.

The Opposition is also proposing a number of other measures, which include an income tax threshold of $400,000 per month, a monthly childcare allowance of over $10,000 for all children up to 16 years old, and partial or fully subsidized rent, mortgage, travel, water, electricity, and cooking gas, with greater focus on lower-income families.

“We will not only make UG free but pay all non-working tertiary level students a stipend of $50,000 per month. We will also invest heavily in small businesses as a means of community development, self-employment, and women and youth empowerment,” he added.

Norton said financing those recurrent expenditures would require prudent financial management, and the PNCR is up to the task.

The party, he said, would redistribute spending within the national budget, generate savings by addressing financial mismanagement and corruption, and increase oil revenues from higher profit oil, in addition to increasing the income from the non-oil economy.