Government’s $100,000 to all adults over 18 years of age
Dear Editor,
The Government of Guyana has revised the cash grant form $200,000 per household to $100,000 to every adult individual in Guyana. The revised version of the payout shows a more equitable disbursement to the citizens of this country, and as the saying goes this payout would net in all the able-bodied men and women in the country. The cash grant represents a caring government at work in the interest of its peoples, or so it seems?
I say “so it seems” for a reason, that is, in the present formula, it does not include those under 18 years of age who form a significant part of the population that should be catered for and are not. Most of those under 18 years are mainly dependents living in a household, and they have to be taken care of by a responsible adult, these would have to be catered for in the next cash grant, let us target that group in the coming year when every child living with (The responsible adult here which includes either mother, father, grandparent or guardian) under 18 years would be entitled to a cash grant of $100,000. But, let us not complicate the system right now, let us deal with the adult cash grant first before venturing into the persons under 18 years old category.
So, let us get back into the discussion of the cash grant to each adult attaining the age eighteen years as of January 1, 2024, I say there must be a verification, I repeat a thorough verification process first, before a disbursement. This verification process cancels out the crooks or those who would try to cheat the system and end up with a windfall. Now, that verification would be in the form of a photo identification and a name affixed to the photograph. This certifies that one person would get his due once and not multiple times.
There are those who do not have an ID Card, then a photo identification whether a passport or driver’s licence should be used, the idea is there must be a photo identification against a name and a facial portrait. There are those who carry a deed poll with a different name to that on their birth certificate, these too need a photo ID at verification. The Amerindians in the interior who might not be in possession of any form of identification, then a verification in the various communities should be done as soon as possible.
It is a pity that the process could not have been carried out as the name suggests, “A One off” cash grant where a designated “single day” where everyone gets the one-off cash grant with an inked finger to go with it. That would solve the problem of persons turning up for multiple grants. Think of it instead of the scammers turning for a one-off multiple cash transaction, they might very well be walking into a one-off jail term.
Now, I know that the inking of the fingers is akin to voting in an election, something the usual suspects are already making postings on their Facebook pages. But never mind those naysayers, my point is government must fine tune the process before any disbursement to iron out the crooks and scammers, in fact, there will always be those who would cry foul irrespective of the handout. I am sending this article to the relevant authorities in Guyana for their consideration.
Respectfully submitted
Neil Adams
