NTC Chair lauds ‘Because We Care’ initiative
Derrick John
Derrick John

–says it proves gov’t committed to serving the people

THE widely-praised ‘Because We Care’ cash grant currently being rolled out by the Government of Guyana, through the Ministry of Education, was lauded as a demonstration of the Government’s commitment to serving the Guyanese people.This was according to the Chairman of the National Toshaos’ Council, Mr. Derrick John, during a brief address at Wednesday’s opening of the 2014 National Toshaos’ Conference at the Guyana International Conference Centre (GICC), Turkeyen, under the theme ‘Harnessing the power of leadership’.
“We want to say thank you…this demonstrates the Government’s commitment to serving the people,” he said.
The $10,0000 cash grant was announced by Finance Minister, Dr. Ashni Singh, during the presentation of the 2014 budget, when he noted that the programme is meant to provide more support to parents with school-age children and to increase their disposable income in order to raise enrollment and attendance rates.
Also in line with the decisions taken after more than 55 public consultations, parents and guardians are able to uplift their vouchers and cash them at Western Union/Bill Express locations. The vouchers can also be cashed at Banks, Mobile Money and MoneyGram locations, as well as at post offices.

FIRST OF ITS KIND
This is in fact the first programme of its kind in the Caribbean and indeed anywhere else in this part of the world where every public school child is entitled to this benefit.
This year, over 30 per cent of a whopping $220B national budget was allocated to the education sector. The national estimates were geared to fulfill the many promises made to the people of Guyana during the 2011 campaign.
Government’s efforts and the expectations of Amerindian communities are major features of the engagement between over 200 Amerindian leaders, community representatives and Government Ministers, as well as other key officials. The conference runs until tomorrow.

(Vanessa Narine)

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