–President Ali says

PRESIDENT, Dr Irfaan Ali has assured public servants and pensioners that they will all receive the one-off $100,000 cash grant before the end of the year.
Speaking with a group of women journalists during the second episode of In the Seat, President Ali underscored the administration’s commitment to ensuring that funds are distributed transparently.

President Ali emphasised the administration’s effort to embed transparency across all aspects of the process. He explained that achieving this requires coordination between the banking system, the Auditor General’s Office, the Ministry of Finance, and regional authorities.

“We’re trying to ensure that transparency is built into every aspect of this, which requires the banking system, the Auditor General’s Office, the Ministry of Finance, the regions… everything to work in a coordinated manner. The public servants will definitely get their cheques. Many pensioners would have [sic] already received [their cheques] in some of the regions. The pensioners and public servants… their cheques will be cut in the system before the end of the year,” he said.

Thousands of public servants and pensioners are set to benefit from the grant, which will supplement their incomes during the festive season. President Ali noted that the distribution of funds is nearly complete in Region Nine, while the process is actively underway in Regions One and Eight. Additionally, President Ali said that the Bank of Guyana (BoG) and the Guyana Bank for Trade and Industry (GBTI) are both collaborating with the Ministry of Finance to encash the cheques. “Cheques ensure another layer of transparency, but cheques also bring bureaucracy with them, because when you go to Crowdar in Region Nine, the people don’t have any access to banking. So, you give them their cheques in Crowdar, but how [do] they get their cash? We [the government] had to go and work with the commercial banks and set up a security infrastructure so that they could encash their cheques in the village,” Dr Ali explained.

Meanwhile, Vice President, Dr Bharrat Jagdeo disclosed last week that over 221,000 individuals in Region Four have registered for the grant. Further, approximately 156,000 of them have been verified, and cheques for those individuals are being printed.

Every Guyanese aged 18 and older are eligible for the $100,000 cash-grant, which was announced by President Ali on October 16, 2024. President Ali highlighted that the cash grant is part of a series of initiatives designed to share the country’s wealth more inclusively.

This one-time grant is part of a series of measures being taken by the government to improve the quality of life for every qualified Guyanese, placing over $60 billion into their pockets.
The announcement of the cash grant has been widely praised by stakeholders across various sectors. The announcement of payment methods—including cheques, direct bank account transfers and cash where applicable—provides flexibility for recipients.

The government is hoping to complete the distribution process by early 2025.