Leader of the People’s National Congress Reform and Chairman of the APNU, Aubrey Norton on Friday welcomed the Government’s announcement of the start of the $100,000 cash grant distribution, but said citizens deserve more than a quick fix to the deeper problems of the cost of living and poverty that continue to face the country.

The Ministry of Finance has announced that public servants will be the first to start receiving the cash grant next week.

At a press conference on Friday, Mr. Norton said the people of Guyana need concrete programmes to not only lift them out of poverty, but to ensure that they can enjoy a high quality of life.

“While the cash grant is welcomed, it cannot take people out of poverty. The APNU calls on the government to re-allocate the resources to help the poor and vulnerable, since cash grants will not generate generational wealth as President Irfaan Ali once said it would. The government would have to stop their show and genuinely put people first,” Mr. Norton told a press meeting today.

Mr. Norton said  the one-off payment does not fix the structural problems facing the country, pointing out that the people of Guyana do not want temporary relief, while the cost of living is rising.

He said the Government should also provide a significant increase in the salaries of public servants.

“The APNU demands that the government give all public servants at least 25% increase in wages and salaries. The people cannot live on the government celebrated economic growth while ignoring the daily reality faced by ordinary citizens. People need economic resources to deal with the high cost of living. Economic growth must mean better living standards, higher wages and salaries, affordable homes, greater opportunities and a just society based on equity,” Mr. Norton said.

Mr. Norton said the country’s oil wealth must be able to touch every Guyanese. He also urged the Government to re-look at their economic policies.

He said the current state of affairs of the majority of Guyanese does not reflect a country that is producing oil.

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