As he assured that all persons who qualify for the $25,000 COVID grant will receive their money, Minister of Local Government Nigel Dharamlall says that anyone who has a problem or needs guidance should call the hotline numbers or contact responsible government ministries.
“They can also contact any of the officers on the ground. There are usually supervisors also and they will assist,” Dharamlall told Stabroek News yesterday when contacted following complaints to this newspaper and on social media.
He said that the Ministry of Human Services and the Ministry of Local Government are the ministries where complaints can be channeled.
Government recently launched special hotline numbers so that persons could obtain information.
“The Government reiterates that the cash grant, designed to bring immediate relief to persons bearing the brunt of the COVID-19 pandemic, will benefit every eligible household,” government said in the notice when it published the numbers.
“Citizens are also reminded that the cash grant is being issued to the primary householder, and wherever there are OTHER family members or tenants, as the case may be, those persons are being issued with a ‘pink’ form, which will serve as the instrument to be used to verify those candidates,” it added.
Dharamlall explained that every household will receive the money and that tenants should be patient and ensure that their “pink slips are filled out”.
He explained that where a house may have more than one household, they will have to satisfy the certifying supervisors of the living arrangements. For properties with multiple tenants, he said that every tenant will be given a pink slip to fill out and they will be given the grant.
However, in the case of University of Guyana students who are renting rooms, they will have to show that it is a permanent dwelling for them. “They might be required to show evidence of their permanence at the rental,” he said.
Most of the complaints over the distribution of monies come from Region 4.
Areas this newspaper received complaints from were Sophia, Campbellville, Cummings Lodge, Turkeyen, Bel Air Village and Plaisance among others.
Dharamlall reasoned that the hiccups in Region 4 were likely because most of the other regions used their Regional Democratic Councils to assist and it allowed for easy work.
But he assured that, “everyone will get their money.”
The numbers to call are 223-7040 from Monday to Friday between the hours of 8:00am and 4:30 pm. Additionally, a mobile number, 600-4164, is operational all day.
