WITH plans to purchase new equipment and conduct major repairs to their vessels, fisherfolk from Region Five were in high praises of the government, on Friday, as they received their $150,000 one-off cash grants.

Spearheading the distribution exercises at the Mahaica Mahaicony Abary- Development Authority (MMA-ADA) compound which saw over 800 fisherfolk uplifting their grants, was Vice-President, Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo, who was joined by Agriculture Minister, Zulfikar Mustapha and Minister of Local Government and Regional Development, Nigel Dharamlall.

The senior government officials were greeted by many enthusiastic persons, who were eagerly waiting to uplift their grants.
One of those many persons was Reland Roberts, who told the Guyana Chronicle that the funds will help him conduct much-needed repairs to his boat as well as help him provide for his household.

“We got a lot of things to do, we got children going to school, so the money will come and do good. Some of it going be spending on the boat, the seine and so damage, so I could fix that,” Roberts said.
Meanwhile, Jagdesh Rambat, said that the grant could not come at a better time. Rambat, who has been a fisherman for 38 years, recently sustained an injury which left him unable to ply his trade.

“I was doing some maintenance work on a boat, and I had a power saw in my hand, and it slip out my hand …so I end up with the injury,” the man explained.
Rambat also noted that fisherfolk most recently have been facing very difficult times.

“This is the first time the Government of Guyana really look into fishermen business, and we are very much thankful for it, because at the moment we are going through a struggle on the seaside.”
Because of his injury, Rambat noted that the money will come in handy in sustaining his household.

“I will give it to my mistress to help with the household to upkeep the house until I could work again.”
Meanwhile, Esmond Duke, who was patiently waiting for the distribution exercise to commence, shared his plans with this publication.
“I got a lot of plans, I want to buy another fishing boat and put it on the water top,” the excited man said.

WELL APPRECIATED
Duke added that fisherfolk have been reeling from the effects of flooding and climate change and the support from the government is well appreciated.
“Sometimes you get low catches, sometimes you do not get nothing, sometimes it’s $7,000 for gas and sometimes you don’t have the gas money and you barely catch lil bit fish. On the water top, most time you taking blows.”
Also expressing gratitude for the timely assistance was Sita.

The woman disclosed that most of the men in her family are fisherfolk and they work very hard.
“My husband is a fisherman, my son, my son-in-law – everybody is a fisherman. They go out 07:00 pm in the night and they come back 05:00 am the next morning and fishing work is very hard, its very tough, my son goes out in the night sometimes they come back with fish, sometimes they don’t come back with any fish.”

With the recent low catches, the money will come in handy in up keeping the household.
“But this is great initiative the government doing to help people, it must do some good to families.”

In his address to the gathering, Vice-President Jagdeo said the government is committed to providing Guyanese with support to cushion the effects of the rising cost of living. Support has so far been in the form of the COVID-19 cash grants, the flood-relief grant and other measures implemented by the current administration over the past two years.

“So, we’re trying to put more money into people’s pocket, expand employment. So that whilst we’re generating the big plans for the development of the country and creating better jobs, people can have a better life,” Dr Jagdeo said, adding: “We’ve been working with all the interest groups and we know that the fishermen too they face difficulties.”

Regarding the fisherfolk grant, Vice-President Jagdeo said that while many persons were looking forward to the rollout of this initiative sooner, a rigorous verification exercise was needed to ensure that only those who are entitled benefit from the grant.

The government had initially estimated that it will be paying the grant to about 5,000 fisherfolk, but after the verification process, this number has topped 6,000.
Vice-President Jagdeo encouraged the fisherfolk to use the funds wisely and invest in other business ventures.

He also advised the beneficiaries to capitalise on the many educational and technical programmes being provided by the government.
“Our economy is shifting in a different direction, so we are preparing for that shift,” he said.

“The future depends on you,” he told the gathering, pointing out that as Guyana continues to advance economically, skilled workers in various sectors will be in high demand, so fisherfolk should take advantage of those training opportunities.