-unclear whether all payments will be made before end of year
By Milton Grannum
Prime Minister Mark Phillips faced a barrage of questions yesterday from opposition members about the $30.5 billion allocated for the much talked about $100,000 cash grant and there were doubts at the end of the session whether all persons 18 and above will be paid before the end of the year.
Questioning of the PM began at 4:04 pm and ended at 4:34 pm, with heated exchanges and persistent heckling dominating the period.
APNU+AFC Member of Parliament Volda Lawrence opened the floor.
“The remarks column for this $30.5 billion states, ‘provision of additional resources for the cash grant distribution of every citizen above 18 years of age.’ At that point, Minister within the Office of the Prime Minister, Kwame McCoy, could be heard heckling, ‘18 years and above, 18 years and above.’”
Lawrence pointedly asked, “Mr. Chair, from what I heard from the President and the Vice President, this cash grant is for 18 years and above. So, we need to make an amendment to this remark here since it will form part of our records.” She further pressed, “Could the Prime Minister state whether, out of this $30.5 billion, any amounts will go to administrative costs? Or are you covering administrative costs from another line item?”
Phillips responded with “The disbursement of this money is administered by a ministry, and that ministry works with other ministries throughout the country. They already have their operational budgets, so this figure covers payments going to the people 18 years and above. If I am 18 years today, January 1st, 2025, I qualify for the money. This money is going to the people.”
At this point APNU+AFC MP Shurwayne Holder raised further concerns about the distribution’s timeline and logistics:
“In the initial announcement, we heard that a total of $60 billion would be disbursed. We’ve since seen changes, and now we see $30.5 billion coming to Parliament. Does the government estimate there are 305,000 persons aged 18 and above, or will another $30 billion request come before the end of the year?”
Smiling, Phillips responded “I never expected such a question from a fellow member of the House. The financial year finishes on the 31st of December, so it’s just about a month. We are asking for that money, and we’re going to pay out that money as fast as possible. Come January the 1st, we go into another budget cycle, and the remainder of the money that is needed will be apportioned and allocated from that budget cycle.”
Heckling erupted from government MPs, with one shouting, “Every Guyanese is getting the money!” Opposition MPs countered with, “When is the exact date? When are you giving the people the money?”
Holder pressed on, asking, “What categories are you catering to under this first tranche? Which regions, which communities?” Government members heckled again, shouting, “Every region!” Phillips assured the House, “Officials are deployed throughout the country conducting registration. The public servants, who are a captive population, are first. Then, we move on to pay everybody, in every region, even the most difficult ones, in the shortest possible time.”
Opposition MPs grew louder. APNU+AFC MP Natasha Singh shouted, “They said everybody was getting the money before Christmas!” Holder demanded clarity on registration in Region Two, stating, “I’ve had numerous reports of teams saying if you don’t register when they visit, you won’t get the money. But then the region says no process for that has begun as yet.
McCoy heckled, “He just registered!” prompting laughter in the chamber.
Loud heckling from the government benches ensued, with members shouting, “Every Guyanese is getting the money!” Holder, seeking clarity amid the interruptions, asked the Speaker for protection.
“Sir, if you can please protect me. I am trying to ask some questions here for the benefit of the House and for the benefit of the Guyanese people.”
Speaker Manzoor Nadir granted Holder the floor, playfully remarking, “I will protect you,” accompanied by a smile that lightened the tense atmosphere, hitting the gavel to the words of “allow the member to ask his question”.
Holder pressed further.
Continuous registration
“There needs to be clarity in terms of the registration process. Is it continuous registration, or is it just for a specific period? Will people in the interior who might not be home during the registration period still be able to register and uplift their monies later?”
Speaker Nadir, before calling on the prime minister to respond stated “pertinent”
Responding to the question Phillips stated that “registration will take place, and will continue to take place throughout the length and breadth of Guyana. Just allow us to do our work. Everybody will get their money in the shortest possible time. It is obvious we are dealing with the public servants first”.
Heckles of “he needs to be at the 5:30 meeting, y’all need to spend more time with he” emerged from the opposition’s benches. APNU+AFC MP Ganesh Mahipaul heckled at this point “PM yuh register” he replied with a loud yes, and you register to”.
Amid persistent heckling from opposition benches questioning exact timelines, Phillips emphasized “Every day, this issue is ventilated in social media and newspapers. Just allow us to do our work.”
At this point APNU+AFC MP Annette Ferguson grilled the prime minister.
Ferguson: The explanation given in the legend where it is saying provision of additional resources. So the questions I would like to ask the prime minister When the reference is made to additional resources has the government started to pay out some monies and now you’re coming for 30.5 billion dollars? In the budget speech under measures the Minister of Finance mention that there is a 7 billion was set aside for cost of living measures. Whether they started to pay anything from the 7 billion.
Prime Minister. I am surprised. This is a budget you have voted provision if you want a dollar more it has to be additional provision. How much ever you want it is additional. Because you started with a voted provision.
APNU+AFC MP Sherod Duncan at this point added that “… we are seeking clarity not in a vacuum. It was this honourable government that came to this House on the 10th day of October and told us we are going to get 200, 000 instantaneously. And we went on that. then they came back and said then it’s in about 5 months, and then they said it will be through an app, then in persons, then finance minister said overnight if you don’t take your photograph you can’t get the money. Then we heard the attorney general speak on biometrics and then the vice president said he speak on behalf of the government. We are seeking clarity in the House. This issue of the cash grant it has been an enigma wrapped in a mystery and that is why we are seeking the clarifications we are seeking here this afternoon. One person said something else. The president said instantaneously, the vice president said no, no in 5 months. In this very house the president said instantaneously”.
Members of the government’s side refuted the claims of the President’s “instantaneous” remarks. However, in his initial address to parliament President Irfaan Ali stated that the initial $200,000 payout would be instantaneous, however when the government changed the disbursement to $100,000 per person 18 and above he stated that the payout will be before Christmas. Duncan questioned what percent of the population is represented in the 30 billion?
Phillips stated “We already said 60 billion is required and we are asking for 30 that is 50 percent of the people who are eligible. 50 percent of the people who are eligible will be covered by the 30. Today is the 27 of November and by our work programme we will push hard to pay everybody by in the shortest possible time by the 31st of December it is envisioned that we will expend if not all most of this money. And in the next financial year we will ask for the next set of money”.
APNU+AFC Member Amanza Walton-Desir sought some clarifications;
Desir: I am curious about the rationale with the registration. For example, the members of parliament have been asked to register. I am asking because one would assume if I am employed with the Ministry of Public Works for example, I am curious, the reason I am asking is one would assume that if I am at the public works ministry the HR will have the record of the employees. I think it is safe for me to assume. I am trying to understand. What is the need to go from ministry to ministry for public servants who are already on a payroll and whose coordinates, their ID cards, passports etc … are already on file to re-register what is the rationale for that?
The PM cited a report in the Guyana Chronicle which stated that the distribution was a two-step process and that the Finance Minister had explained it.
Desir. I have to observe that the question is not answered. If I am to follow up. Why can’t we rely on the record already in the ministry? If the PM is coming to tell me the employment records has to be verified, so this is what we are trying to understand. She added maybe we should get an answer from the persons under who it should come in the first place”.
Phillips stated “I will defer to the honorable Minister because in the interest of the people of Guyana understanding I already referred to the minister. I will ask him to further explain once and for all.
Finance Minister Singh then rose and added: “If I might add some further clarity to the abundant clarity that was already provided by the distinguished prime minister. The reason why I am not speaking specifically to the question asked by member Desir asking why a registration stage is required for public servants when we already have them on the payroll. We do already have them on the payroll. The reason why it is required in addition to processing public servants’ payment (is) we are also registering in the communities. And the people who work in public offices also live in these communities. And in order to ensure that we minimize, and eliminate, and avoid as far as we possibly can any duplication it is imperative that everybody be registered”.
In an interview with reporters on November 13, 2024, President Irfaan Ali stated that the $100,000 cash grant would be paid to most citizens before Christmas, with pensioners and public servants set to receive their payments by the end of this month.
“Before the end of the month, the existing datasets for pensioners and public servants will allow their cheques to be cut easily,” Ali said. “This weekend, they will be in Region 9 collecting datasets from Region 9. The hinterland regions we will try to complete as quickly as possible because the coast we can easily work with. Yes… you would get your money before Christmas.”
Ali emphasized that data collection is crucial to ensuring timely disbursement:
“You had to get a system to collect the data to cut the cheque. We already had raw datasets like all public service employees and pensioners. Tomorrow morning, we can cut the cheque for all of them.”
