MAHDIA, REGION EIGHT — Prime Minister Mark Phillips lit up a packed public meeting in Mahdia Friday night with a bold promise: the government’s popular cash grant will not only continue, it’s going up. “It will not be less than $100,000. It will be $100,000 and more,” Phillips told the cheering crowd, many of whom were clad in red PPP shirts and waving flags.
His announcement triggered a wave of applause across the mining town, which has felt both the economic strains and the benefits of government assistance. With general elections just over a month away, the Prime Minister’s declaration was anything but subtle.
The message to voters was clear: if the PPP/C is re-elected on September 1, more cash is coming. This year, every adult Guyanese received $100,000 through the government’s cash transfer initiative. Now, Phillips says that figure is just the floor.
“As the economy grows, the money you will get will grow,” he said, suggesting that future payouts will be tied to the country’s expanding oil-rich economy.
The speech was part campaign rally, part economic pitch. Phillips emphasized that the government has been careful with its management of the economy and is now in a position to deliver bigger payouts without compromising stability.
But the timing and tone of the announcement are impossible to ignore. With the PPP/C fighting to secure another term in office, the promise of more cash grants is bound to turn heads, and win votes.
Still, some observers have raised eyebrows at the promise, calling it a high-stakes gamble that could blur the line between public policy and political reward.
For supporters in Mahdia, though, the promise sounded like hope and money rolled into one.
As campaign season ramps up, the PPP/C’s message is resonating loud and clear: vote for us, and the grants will keep coming, bigger than before.
