The Guyana Government will not be making a list of cash grant registrants from scratch, instead, the administration will be revising the 2025 list.
Funds have already been set aside for the initiative, which is aimed at easing cost-of-living pressures by placing direct financial support into the hands of citizens aged 18 and older. The allocation received approval from the Committee of Supply on Monday night, following intense questioning from opposition members on issues of transparency and implementation.
Prime Minister, Brigadier (Ret’d) Mark Phillips, told the committee that the grant forms part of a broader suite of measures contained in the “Putting People First” 2026 budget, which he said is centred on “shared prosperity” for all Guyanese.
The government has catered for 716,261 persons, all of whom are expected to receive the $100,000 payment once the budget is approved. Eligibility is determined by two requirements: being a Guyanese citizen and being 18 years of age or older at the time of registration.
“The average Guyanese will know that we already went through an exercise where over 600,000 people are already registered, and we have that record of the people already registered, obviously it will be updated, and then we’ll have to do an additional registration exercise to cater for some 14,000 there about Guyanese, who will likely qualify,” the Prime Minister said.
He further explained that the existing list will be examined and cleaned to remove the names of deceased persons, while also being updated to include approximately 14,000 newly eligible citizens.
According to Phillips, once the 2026 budget is passed, the Ministry of Finance will immediately move into detailed preparations for the disbursement of the grant.
“We are feverishly working toward the passage of this budget, and to start the preparation to pay the people of Guyana including all the members of the opposition, to pay you the $100,000 that you deserve and you qualify for by simply being a citizen of Guyana 18 years and above, shared prosperity. We promised that, we’re delivering on that,” Phillips said.
Questions were also raised during the debate about the method of distribution, particularly for public servants and others who receive their salaries through bank transfers.
In response, the Prime Minister said discussions are already ongoing to ensure that payments are distributed in a manner that is fast, simple and efficient. He reiterated that the cash grant is one of several measures being implemented to cushion Guyanese against rising living costs.
Last year, President Dr Irfaan Ali encouraged citizens to open bank accounts in anticipation of electronic transfers, as part of the government’s broader efforts to modernise public services. At the time, the President noted that state systems were being digitised to improve efficiency and transparency in the delivery of public benefits.
The government had first announced the $100,000 cash grant in 2024 for every Guyanese aged 18 and over. The upcoming disbursement will mark the second payment under the programme.
