Ahead of tomorrow’s emergency budget presentation, President Irfaan Ali yesterday announced a slew of relief measures, including a $25,000 per household cash transfer to cushion the effects of COVID-19.
“We are hoping that this can help in some way to support families, many of whom do not have enough food to put on the table at this moment. So this $25,000 per household, I know, will go a far way in supporting those who are vulnerable and in critical need. That is why we are pursuing this direct cash transfer to every household,” Ali said when announcing the initiative yesterday during a press conference at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre.
While the president did not indicate whether the sum will be a one-off transfer, Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo later informed that the money will be distributed to each household. He said an extensive form has been developed that has the name of the recipient, their identification information and the monies will be given in the form of vouchers with security features that will make them hard to duplicate. He said where there might be more than one family living in one home, representation will have to be made outside of the normal distribution. It is not clear when the distribution will begin.