THE Working People’s Alliance (WPA), in its continued pitch for cash transfers through Guyana’s oil wealth, has debunked many of the myths associated with the initiative.

One of the main myths discredited was that the US$5,000 cash transfer per household proposed by economist, Professor Clive Thomas, will cause Guyanese to become lazy. At a Public Symposium on Cash Transfer on Monday at the Critchlow Labour College, Prof. Thomas stated that challenges faced to the various forms of cash transfers are due to lack of information, prejudice, the spread of opinions over facts, out-of-date theories and more.

“I cannot imagine a more preposterous statement,” Prof. Thomas said, in reference to the stance regarding laziness. “Because the cash transfer is going to every household, it meets the test of being non-racial. I’m not suggesting that you give the black families or the Amerindian families or Indian families…I still believe that the foundation on which the WPA has always founded itself is respect for the working people.”

He was seated amongst WPA Executive Member, David Hinds and General Secretary of the Guyana Trades Union Congress (GTUC), Lincoln Lewis, who met with scores of interested individuals. Dr. Hinds told the gathering that in pushing for the cash transfer initiative in Guyana, the WPA hopes to bring about “qualitative change” in the country. He called on those in the position of leadership in the country to recognise the wisdom of the idea, treat it as a “serious proposal” and to visualise what it would mean for the average Guyanese.

THERE MUST BE A PLAN
Meanwhile, in explaining the benefits of cash transfers, it was noted that prior to the implementation of such an initiative, there must be a careful plan.
Data was sited from sources like Rystad Energy Analytics, the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) and the World Bank.

Research from the latter showed that certain types of cash transfers aid social inclusion; food, nutrition and health; education; labour; early childhood development and hinders the impact of poverty and inequality.

At the same time, Prof. Thomas said that the initiative – if accepted – is not likely to be fully operational until the latter part of 2020 and is not intended to be permanent as most Guyanese will be better off each new year into oil production.

Also, Prof. Thomas stated that phasing in and out of how cash transfers would be administered must be linked to the number of barrels of oil and how much is produced per day. It estimated households which would be reached in Guyana is 210,000, while the estimated annual cost for the initiative would be $US1.05B. Prof. Thomas lamented that most Guyanese do not have an idea of how much potential wealth is out there for them to benefit from.

Nonetheless, he told those in attendance that Guyana has the world’s fastest rate of oil discoveries and by 2025 the country could become well respected as one of the largest oil producers.

STEADY SUPPORT
During the question and answer segment, several persons from the audience stood up to make queries or to support the intention of the cash transfer initiative. “Without the details that I saw here tonight, I strongly support the proposal,” said one, John Woolford, who believes it is the way for persons to come out of poverty. He hopes that such an initiative can support the work of small farmers for greater agriculture success in Guyana.

Meanwhile, Arthur Thorne of Region Three called on Guyanese, especially those who stand to benefit from cash transfer, to rise up in their numbers in support of the initiative. Another person urged persons not only to think about the ways in which they could spend $US5,000, but to think of ways in which they can invest their money for greater returns. Prof. Thomas said that he will be moving towards the documentation of his strategy for cash transfer to be best able to provide information on the same and kick into action if or when the time comes.