WPA calls on Government to introduce viable cash transfer policy linked to poverty alleviation

WPA calls on Government to introduce viable cash transfer policy linked to poverty alleviation

The Working People’s Alliance, (WPA) today welcomed the President’s announcement of a one off $200,000 cash transfer as a “baby step”, but said the Head of State failed to address the issue of poverty which has become pervasive, when he addressed the opening of the National Assembly last week.

During a press conference today, WPA executive, Dr. David Hinds said the speech by the President appears to be an admission that the measures which he boasted the PPP Government has implemented to increase disposable income to the Guyanese people, have either been either inadequate or have failed to achieved their outcome.

“While the WPA generally welcomes the initiatives announced by the president as a baby step forward, we bemoan the fact that taken as a whole, they represent more of election gimmickry rather than a genuine attempt to address the country’s debilitating social and economic problems. Although electioneering is part of political life, any responsible government should ground its stewardship of the country in a broader framework,” Dr. Hinds said.

Dr. Hinds said that the WPA believes that the short-term relief measures will in the final analysis do very little to bring about sustainable change in the economic fortunes of workers, families and the poor.  Consequently, the party noted that Guyana urgently needs a sustained socio-economic development plan rather than mere temporary measures as outlined by the president. 

“Nowhere in the president’s address, for example, did he frontally confront the persistent poverty that continues to take its toll on the populace. It is estimated that approximately 42% of Guyanese live on less than US$5.5 per day. This is unacceptable in a country which boasts one of the highest GDP growths in the world. The WPA continues to believe that direct cash transfers to the citizens is one of the most potent ways to tackle this problem”, Hinds said.

Dr. Hinds said while the cash-transfer should be welcomed by Guyanese, especially the poor and working poor, Guyanese must look at the bigger picture.

He said the WPA feels that a viable cash-transfer policy must be linked to poverty alleviation, and must also benefit from a feasibility study to determine its scope and design, adding that it must be grounded in law so that it is shielded from political abuse.

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