Cash grants payout this year, subsidies for rice farmers, fisherfolk

Last Updated on Wednesday, 5 November 2025, 20:01 by Writer

President Irfaan Ali on Wednesday said he would soon announce a “comprehensive” package of cash transfers to Guyanese over the next few years, and urged them to open bank accounts to facilitate the payout digitally.

The President said the disabled, elderly, children, women, small business owners, and farmers among others would benefit from these measures. “I’m going to announce a comprehensive slew of measures that would include, of course, cash transfer to families before the end of the year and it would take us not only to the next year but it would take us in our cycle of government in the next five years,” he said in an interview broadcast on his Facebook page.

Dr Ali said his government had already held discussions with commercial banks which were now facilitating the opening of bank accounts online with minimal requirements for accounts under GY$1 million. “We want every Guyanese to own their own bank account so that this digital transfer would be easy and efficient and, of course, transparent,” he said.

The President also announced that the government would plough GY$2.7 billion into subsidising paddy payments to farmers by GY$300 per bag, as well as GY$150,000 to each fisherfolk. “We’re going to give $150,000 to every fisherfolk out there to help them, as incentive, a subsidy from the government,” he said.