Cash grant protest

Dec 08, 2025 Editorial, News

(Kaieteur News) – A severely diminished A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) has organised a protest today demanding that government give every citizen aged 18 and over a $150,000 cash grant.

In these difficult times, marked by the crushing cost of living crisis, even the whisper of such a grant will naturally capture the public’s attention.

Despite the booming oil industry, ordinary Guyanese continue to feel poorer, struggling daily to make ends meet. A cash grant, especially during the Christmas season, would provide welcome relief to many families. President Irfaan Ali did hint during the campaign that Guyanese would “have a beautiful Christmas” if they behaved themselves, widely interpreted to mean if they re-elected him. He has now secured re-election and it is only fair that he delivers what was promised, instead of diverting attention with talk of long-term initiatives and vague assurances of future prosperity.

Citizens want the promised cash grant and this newspaper supports their call for such a holiday incentive. However, what is deeply ironic, perhaps even hypocritical is APNU’s sudden zeal for this issue. This is the same party that, during its five years in government and another five years as the main Opposition, refused to join national pressure for ExxonMobil to renegotiate the lopsided oil contract.

As Guyanese cried out for ring-fencing provisions, for royalties higher than the paltry 2%, for basic ownership and sovereignty over our wealth, APNU’s leadership looked the other way. Had Guyana been receiving even a modest 10% royalty, let alone the 25% this newspaper believes is fair, there would be no need for any protest today. The government would have had more than enough revenue to provide every citizen with a Christmas grant. Yet APNU’s leader, Aubrey Norton, could barely bring himself to utter the word renegotiation.

Whenever ring-fencing or renegotiation was raised, Norton had no clear response, no conviction, no courage. Today amid unprecedented national oil output and record-breaking production, he is rallying supporters to protest not for long-term financial justice, not for sovereignty, not for structural change, but for a one-off $150,000 cash grant.

This is the type of leadership that has reduced APNU from 31 parliamentary seats to a faint shadow with just 12. They have never mobilised their supporters to demand a fair share of their own oil resources, but they eagerly mobilise them for a temporary handout. We have long been at the forefront of the call to renegotiate the exploitative contract that shackles Guyana to ExxonMobil. Our publisher led protest actions when few other voices dared to speak against the American oil giant’s stranglehold. Where was APNU? Where was Norton? Renegotiation is not merely an economic adjustment, it is the only path to justice, relief, and recovery from the generational harm imposed by this atrocious oil deal.

APNU’s sudden obsession with a one-off payout betrays a stunning lack of vision. A cash grant may ease burdens today, but it does nothing to secure Guyana’s long-term financial independence. The real path to sustainable relief lies in correcting the very source of our national income, the oil contract that bleeds Guyana of its rightful wealth. By ignoring this central issue and focusing instead on a quick political win, APNU shows that it is not prepared to champion the deeper structural reforms that would permanently uplift citizens. Their priorities are driven not by national interest, but by political expediency. Let it be clear: this newspaper fully supports the call for a Christmas cash grant.

Guyanese deserve immediate relief, and the government should honour its election-season promise. But we cannot ignore that such relief is only necessary because successive political leaders have failed to secure a fair deal for our resources. APNU’s fixation on a temporary payout, while refusing to fight for the billions being lost offshore, is the clearest example of leadership without foresight. Guyanese must never settle for crumbs when the nation sits atop vast wealth. The grant is justified, but the greater battle for justice, equity, and national dignity must not be overshadowed by short-term theatrics.

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