–fisherfolk welcome government’s $150,000 one-off grant

LOCAL fisherfolk will each benefit from a one-off grant of $150,000 in the government’s latest measure to help ordinary Guyanese cope with the rising cost of living brought on by external factors beyond Guyana’s control.

This latest measure, which is expected to benefit between 5,000 – 5,500 persons, was announced by President Dr. Irfaan Ali on Tuesday, during a public meeting at Windsor Forest on the West Coast Demerara.

The President was accompanied by the Minister of Agriculture Zulfikar Mustapha. Prior to the President’s announcement, Vice-President Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo had met with a group of fishermen in Berbice in April, who’d raised several issues regarding the increasing cost of living. The Vice-President had assured the fishermen that the government will look into their concerns.

President Ali noted that after the government did a complete assessment of its revenue streams and finances, it determined that the $150,000 grant will be issued to the fisherfolk.

“We are announcing an initiative for every single person identified; we are going to help you with a one-off grant of $150,000. This is an immediate step that we are taking to assist you, in addition to all that we’re doing to expand the industry,” President Ali said.

Fishermen have welcomed the move by government.

“That’s very good; we are very glad. It will assist us a lot,” Chairman of the Upper Corentyne Fishermen Co-op Pameshwar Jainarine said.

He added: “We’ve had various issues; especially extremely low catches. Then we had a lot of rough seas out there. Extremely rough weather and low catches; those were the biggest challenges we’ve had.”

During Tuesday’s meeting, those gathered were also given the opportunity to share their concerns. President Ali reminded his audience that his government is cognisant of the struggles facing the people of Guyana, and is always there to help.

“You have a government that is responsive and willing to come out and make decisions that can help you at the family level, at the individual level, and at the industry level. You have a government that will continue to work with you, hand-in-hand to uplift your life,” President Ali said, adding:

“We have been going around the country listening to you; listening to your concerns, and notwithstanding all of these interventions that we’ve made, we understand that at your household level, you still have immediate needs, and you still have some immediate help that you require.”

The President noted that the grant for the fisherfolk ties in with the government’s commitment to increase support for the agriculture community, as Guyana and the rest of the Caribbean strive to increase the production of food commodities, and in keeping with ‘Vision 25 by 25’.

“Our goal is to create the system in which we can increase productivity; we’re working to make Guyana an important part of the food supply to help the whole Caribbean. To do this, we have to invest in every sector and every segment, in developing our productive capacity; that is why we are addressing, today, our fishing industry specifically,” the President said.

Minister Mustapha, who also addressed the gathering, noted that the assistance to fisherfolk complements other ongoing initiatives in the agriculture sector.

“Like any other responsible government; like any other caring government, we are looking at ways and means of how we can help the different sections of the population. As a government, we don’t wait for things to happen; we make things happen. We have been addressing a number of issues in the fishing industry, to see how we can reduce the cost of living in the industry,” Minister Zulfikar noted.