Dear Editor,
The first rounds of Guyana nationally showcased insanity have seemingly ended. It was raucous. It was barbaric. It was a sickening spectacle. It was the cash grant initiative. A special word of thanks is extended to Dr. Irfaan Ali, Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo, and Dr. Ashni Singh. If they were in charge of a medical facility, it is guaranteed to end up a mortuary. Their motto of service: come into our parlour, and get taken out in a stretcher. I must say they make Guyanese feel, well, like Guyanese.
The thrust of this writing is to say thanks on behalf of those who went, stayed, and survived. They managed the ordeal of collecting $100,000 of their oil money. They would include public servants, and pensioners, whether NIS recipients, or the Old Age Pensioners who somehow squeezed through the razor wire in one piece, and left with a check. From this point, matters lean towards the stickier side; quite frankly, the cash grant distribution/collection aspect just doesn’t lean, it collapses. A recap helps before proceeding. Public servants collected their check. Good. NIS pensioner did, too. Some Old Age Pensioners rounded off the distribution exercise. Good for all three groups. Hooray for Ali-Ashni-Barry. I wonder what my fellow Americans and the invading hordes of foreigners think of Guyana’s circuses. Now for the real story.
How many Old Age Pensioners have not collected their checks, have no idea as to what is next? The big boss men in the big PPP Government spoke brightly in the early days of ‘those in the system’ and ‘those who are captive audiences.’ Very good, gents. So, what happened to them? They (OAP) were supposed to be among the people prioritized. If I recall accurately, more than one inspiring speech was made by one of the Cash Grant Trio that pensioners would be prioritized and they were going to collect their check by the end of the month (interpreted to be November and not April). How many tens of thousands of them are still, like Dionne Warwick, wishin’ and hopin’ and thinkin’ and prayin’… There are approximately 76,000 pensioners. How many from this so-called priority group were checkless on Monday, January 6, 2025? I go further.
There was a supplementary budget approved with $30 billion to pay the cash grant priority people. How many got paid? How many didn’t? How much of the $30 billion is still around? I haven’t set foot near any distribution place. But what about those citizens that were not attended to, those who went, then went away empty handed? When are they going to collect? This week, next week, or after the next budget is passed? Moneyman Dr. Singh had a good word for Guyanese left hanging between the Demerara Harbour Bridge and those Exxon billboards: doan tek wurreez. Doan panic. Why not for folks who really need that money, Dr. Singh? My word to fellow citizens: listen out, wait up, then wait until the check clears. Is the GDF arrangement happening, or coming, Dr. Singh? Ditto the Sports Hall? Speak straight and speak clear, sir.
Considering where matters are, I believe that the PPP Government has gotten so good at twisted political propaganda that it is no longer capable of presenting a straight slate of basic information to citizens. Go to Place A from X to Y dates and times, but only if meeting this criterion. Conspicuously, relative to promises about more updates, memory lapses may have interfered with honouring info updates. Even more conspicuously, the citizens in Guyana’s most populous region (Four) wait to hear from Dr. Singh re the specifics about plans for them.
Seriously, I thought that a man of Dr. Ashni Singh’s prowess would have manifested more pride in what he put out as a distribution process before citizens. Nobody expects a picture-perfect exercise. But what has unfolded in the past several weeks is nothing but a disaster. If I were Dr. Singh, I would take that as a personal slap in the face because it is my product with my stamp of approval on it under my watch. But Dr. Singh is who he is, and that’s not changing. Now Guyanese are left to form their own conclusions about whether their elected reps are looking out for them. Or riding them like donkeys. The cash grant distribution has confirmed this daily since the programme started, inclusive of registration.
Last, I think that the government did itself some harm with this cash grant affair. After the ordeals, the humiliations, the hurts to collect a long overdue cash grant, many Guyanese are going to weigh who they wish to vote for come polling day. Or if they are going to come out and vote at all.
Sincerely,
GHK Lall