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‘Oil cash handouts will leave Guyana poorer’ – Minister Bharrat
…says initiative is a failed model
Kaieteur News – Minister of Natural Resources Vickram Bharrat said that giving citizens cash transfers from oil funds is a failed model, and if the government focuses on this Guyana will end up poorer than it started.
Minister of Natural Resources, Vickram Bharrat
He however clarified that the government does intend to provide cash transfers, but emphasised that, as President Irfaan Ali has stated, this is not the only way the administration plans to spend oil revenues.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) back in March had praised Guyana’s cash transfers, saying that it helped to tackle poverty but cautioned the country about the likely impact from lower oil prices and climate shocks. “Staff assesses that social transfer policies implemented in recent years have increased disposable income and reduced the poverty rate,” the IMF said in its Staff Concluding Statement of the 2025 Article IV Mission. The PPP/C Government in its last term provided cash transfers to disabled persons, farmers, school children, mothers of newborn babies and dialysis recipients. It also distributed $100,000 cash transfer to all Guyanese 18 years and older and had promised more such grants in its second term. “Going forward, additional targeted transfers, integrated into a medium-term fiscal framework, could further support inclusive growth and help Guyana advance faster toward its sustainable development goal (SDG) of no poverty,” the IMF said.
Meanwhile, on the recent election campaign trail, all of the parties promised citizens cash grants. In March of this year Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo told the media at a gathering at Babu Jaan, Corentyne, Berbice that cash grants will be given in the future. “You will get your cash grants in the future too,” Jagdeo said. “Just imagine the next term in office how glorious that will be,” he added. During his address, Jagdeo reaffirmed that the PPP stands by its commitments. “When we make these promises that President Ali spoke about in the next term, you best believe that they will be delivered,” he noted.
The VP had explained that the People’s Progressive Party Civic (PPPC) has plans t0 structure financial instrument created in such a way that enables citizens to invest their cash grants. “It will underwrite, it will give you a guarantee rate of return than if the money was placed in the bank,” he noted. “So when you get your cash grant in the future, you can put it in a financial instrument that the government will create, that it will underwrite, it will give you a guarantee rate of return than the money if you place it in the bank, all of this will empower people, young people, especially to own things,” he said.
Fast forward to the launch of the party’s elections campaign in July Prime Minister Mark Phillips also promised that if reelected the PPPC Government will deliver more cash grants not less than $100,000. “Last year, we paid $100,000 cash grant for every Guyanese 18 years and above. And it didn’t done deh, because once we start something, we got to continue it, and if we pay $100,000, next time we ain’t gon pay you less than 100,000 so you figure it out for yourself, more cash grant coming, and it will not be less than $100,000,” Phillips told a large crowd of PPP supporters at their election campaign launch in Kitty.
However, Minster Bharrat has said that the issue of cash grants, “It’s a failed model. It’s a model that does not work in any part of the world. Now let’s look at a few countries. Let’s look at the US. Many of these people who have called for cash transfer, most some of them live in the US.” He explained that a lot of these persons live in the United States, and he would like them to tell him if cash transfers are offered to citizens in the US, even though it is one of the most powerful countries on earth. “The US produces probably the most oil in the world among oil producing countries. I’ve never heard of any cash transfer in the US, Qatar. I’ve never heard of any cash transfer in Qatar, the UAE, which is Dubai…I’ve never heard of any cash transfer given. Look at Ghana, look at Angola, and those African countries that produce oil,” he said.
He reiterated that the model cannot and will not work, as it is not practical. If the government decided to give every household $500,000 monthly or quarterly, this may be sending a bad message or citizens may refuse to work. “Who will go to school after that? Because if I’m a student and I’m a Guyanese, I would say I’m collecting our money. Why should I go to school? Why should I study? Why should I get degree? Why should I go work? Because I’m collecting this money. So it’s the culture, is the culture that we create, or the culture behind that,” the minister reasoned.
Minister Bharrat explained that it will not be an incentive and it will be short-lived, resulting in the country being in a worst state than when it started producing oil. “Oil and Gas will end at some point in time, and that is why we have used the revenue from oil and gas sector to continue building out forestry, mining, manufacturing, ecotourism, construction and the new sectors that are emerging now, agriculture expanding because we know we have to prepare for after-oil, like Dubai did, and we have seen their success. So, these are resources that don’t last forever,” the minister reminded.
“We will end up poorer than where we start from. It simply means that we will end up with a country with people who are not educated because they didn’t see the need to go to school and for their education and to study and to build a professional career, because they’re receiving these cash transfers, and the people who have not invested in businesses and who are not working, and we will simply have a country where expats and foreigners will dominate, obviously, because our locals are just sitting back and waiting on their cash transfer at the end of the month,” Bharrat stressed.
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The government must stop the lavish expenditures on roadways, buildings, bridges, etc AND remodel the oil contracts so that we get more money for our oil. Once corporate tax, ring fencing each project and other measures are undertaken, there will be more than enough money to give the population. Just to summarily stipulate that giving the population its proper share of the resources will stop children from going to school is short sighted. People embrace education because the see the value in knowledge and like everything else, it is personal.
Stop the stealing and borrowing and pay off the huge debt that you established on the back of the country. A debt free society/country/people can live exceptionally well with minimal cash transfers, contrary to the speech of this dumb minister. Yet, who has asked the Guyanese people about this subject? They are unwilling to tabulate these results because it will be devastating to know how Guyanese think about the government.
Dubai and the Emirates have had great success with wealth distribution. Take note fools!