GEORGETOWN – The government’s top brass is locked in a public push-and-pull over the fate of oil wealth handouts, with Vice President Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo today forcefully overriding recent internal skepticism to promise a festive cash injection for Guyanese citizens. Jagdeo made the sensational assurance after President Dr. Irfaan Ali had hinted at a major cash grant initiative, possibly in time for Christmas.
In a direct rebuke to any wavering confidence, and specifically addressing recent claims by Natural Resources Minister Vickram Bharrat that relying on cash grants could allegedly “leave Guyana poorer,” the Vice President was unequivocal: “Whatever the President said on the campaign trail will be done.”
Jagdeo’s promise serves as a clear counterpoint to Minister Bharrat’s caution that cash transfers are allegedly a “failed model” globally and are “unsustainable” given the finite nature of oil. By vowing that the People’s Progressive Party Civic (PPP/C) “will deliver” on its promises, the Vice President effectively sidelined his colleague’s warnings.
Furthermore, Jagdeo sweetened the political pot, assuring citizens not to worry about the timing, as the current term will see multiple payouts. “This is a five-year term we have, there will be several cash grants in the five years…Don’t worry about it,” he said, signaling a sustained strategy of direct wealth distribution.
The initiative, if rolled out this Christmas, would follow the precedent set by the previously introduced $100,000 cash grant, which benefited approximately 600,000 Guyanese aged 18 and above. Jagdeo’s definitive statement effectively puts the government on the clock to deliver a Christmas miracle, cementing its political promise despite internal debate over the wisdom of oil cash handouts.
