Almost 400,000 Guyanese received cash grant – finance minister

Last Updated on Tuesday, 2 June 2026, 19:59 by Writer

Almost 400,000 Guyanese have received their GY$100,000 cash grant mainly through their bank accounts, but the government is ready to deliver the money to those who do not have bank accounts, Minister of Finance Ashni Singh said on Tuesday.

“I think we’ve done extremely well because we’ve been able to register and pay now about, I think we’re close to 400,000 persons, which is quite a large number if you consider the speed with which this has been done,” he told reporters on the sidelines of a Local Content Summit.

The government has allocated GY$60 billion in the 2026 National Budget for the universal cash grant.

The government for the first time deposited the cash grant to recipients’ bank accounts which they included during the online registration process.

“The overwhelming majority of these people were paid directly into their bank accounts, and that has proven to be the most efficient way to get the cash grant,” he said.

Dr Singh, at the same time, sought to reassure Guyanese that those who do not have a bank account, are ill, are shut-ins or live in remote communities would receive the payout.

He said, for instance, in Region 7 (Cuyuni-Mazaruni) and Region 9 (Upper Takatu-Upper Essequibo), teams were deployed to register persons and alternative means had been used to deliver the cash grants to them.

The Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Human Services, he said, were collaborating to reach the disabled and shut-ins.

Specifically, he said those who do not have bank accounts or do not want bank accounts would still receive the money. “We continue to try to explain to people that this is the easiest way to get your cash grant, but we also assure you that if you don’t have a bank account and you don’t want a bank account, you’re not going to be denied your cash grant, but we’re dealing in the first instance with those who have bank accounts,” he said.

While acknowledging that there were some initial “glitches” with the online registration process, he praised the work of local developers at the National Data Management Authority for building the portal that facilitated the payment directly into the bank accounts of more than 300,000 persons.

He attributed setbacks to the large volume of persons who were attempting to register in the early days of the process.

“They made some refinements to better allow the system to accommodate the volume. They made refinements as they went along, and on the whole, the system has worked very well,” he said.