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‘No photo, no cash grant’ – Dr. Ashni Singh
Senior Minister with responsibility for Finance, Dr Ashni Singh
Kaieteur News- Amid some skepticism regarding the requirement for a photograph to be taken when registering for the $100,000 cash grant, Senior Minister with responsibility for Finance, Dr. Ashni Singh, clarified on Tuesday that while individuals will not be forced to have their photos taken, those who choose not to, will not be registered and therefore will not be eligible for the grant.
“We are not of course compelling anybody to have their picture taken, you do have the option not to have your picture taken but if you exercise the option not to have your picture taken you will not be registered,” Dr. Singh explained on the sidelines of an event at the Pegasus Corporate Suites in Georgetown.
The cash grant initiative was first announced by President Irfaan Ali in October and is part of a broader $60 billion programme targeting Guyanese aged 18 and older. On Monday, the government tabled an $85.4 billion supplementary financial paper, which includes $30.5 billion to fund the first phase of the cash grant distribution.
Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, Dr. Singh emphasized the importance of registration, noting that a schedule of dates, times, and locations for registration will be published soon.
“So, every community we are going to publish a registration schedule that is to say a list of dates and times and locations that we will be going to communities across the country with a technical team and devices…So look out for the publication of the registration schedule for your area…” Dr. Singh said.
The minister urged eligible Guyanese to participate in the registration process as soon as it begins, and he highlighted the newly developed application (app.) designed to streamline the process. The app., Dr. Singh explained, will allow for efficient scanning of identification cards, populating data electronically. He said, “With your passport you have to enter your data manually but with the ID cards it’s very efficient, you literally scan your id card and the data is populated immediately.”
Following the registration process, the government will release a second schedule for the distribution of the cash grants. “We want this to be done as quickly as possible we are trying every means available…for public servants we are registering you at your place of work. For others…we are coming to your communities, we will tell you when we are coming, please come and register…” he urged.
While the minister reiterated that the government aims to complete the process swiftly, he refrained from providing a specific timeline for when the entire distribution will be finished. However, Dr. Singh assured that public servants would receive their cash grants before the end of the year.
“We would like to get there…our aim is to capture as many people as possible and I would probably leave it as that,” he added.
(‘No photo, no cash grant’ – Dr. Ashni Singh)
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