GEORGETOWN, Guyana, (DPI) – President, Dr Mohamed Irfaan Ali has announced a one-off cash grant of $200,000 to every household in Guyana. This intervention will inject $60 billion of disposable income into the economy; meantime electricity costs to be slashed by 50 percent by end of 2025.
The head of state made the monumental announcement on Thursday during his address at a special sitting of the National Assembly at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre. The measure is a response to the escalating financial strain imposed by the rising cost of living, a phenomenon that is global in scope.
“We will begin this one-off cash grant payment to households instantaneously,” the president said.
The People’s Progressive Party/Civic government is driven by a commitment to putting the welfare of Guyanese first. Since assuming office, he pointed out that a suite of measures has been implemented to increase disposable income for Guyanese.
Over 200 taxes and fees by the previous government were removed, including VAT on water, electricity, and basic food items. Other measures include the removal of excise tax on fuel, which saves consumers more than $90 billion annually, the increase in the low-income mortgage loan ceiling, and the removal of taxes on date for residential and individual use.
Last year, a $5 billion cost of living allocation saw public servants, teachers, and members of the disciplined services, as well as staff of semi-autonomous agencies and public enterprises, receive a $25,000 one-time tax-free cash grant in December 2023, a $1.7 billion investment.
“This is how we are promoting prosperity, ownership, distribution of wealth. This is how the resources and revenue of this country are being spent every single day to lift the lives of people, to expand national wealth, coastal wealth, and community wealth. This is what the People’s Progressive Party/Civic government is about,” the Guyanese head of state said.
Meanwhile, significant relief is coming for Guyanese consumers as electricity costs will be reduced by 50 percent before the end of 2025. According to president, Dr Ali, this measure will put more money in the pockets of hardworking Guyanese.
“This is an injection of US$250 million by the government of Guyana that will positively impact disposable income by the reduction in the cost of electricity. That is more than $50 billion back in the pockets of the Guyanese people. This is where the revenue is going,” the president said during a special sitting of the National Assembly on Thursday, at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre.
The president’s announcement comes in light of the significant challenges faced by the Guyana Power and Light Inc (GPL) to keep up with the increasing demand for electricity.
“During the period 2015-2019, GPL struggled with insufficient inventory to effectively execute its planned network expansion and maintenance programme. With respect to the operation of the grid [in the same period], this challenge was further exacerbated with the insufficient investment in generating capacity and the maintenance of existing generator units,” the president added.
This resulted in significant system disturbances and frustrations for customers. In this regard, president Ali noted that his administration has made significant upgrades aimed at enhancing capacity at GPL.
Since 2020, the government has invested $28.1 billion in expanding the generation, transmission and distribution system, adding 127.7 megawatts of generating capacity to the GPL grid.
“The investment in the electricity sector by my administration included expansion and upgrade of the distribution network, substations, installation and replacement of more than 100,000 metres, as well as close to 4,000 transformers and laying almost 2800 kilometres of distribution network,” he said.
Bringing light to underserved areas since 2020, the government has provided electricity to 27 communities that had been without power. In addition, the government is investing in integrating solar energy into the national grid to supply cheaper, renewable electricity to households. This investment has led to a 224 percent increase in electricity generation from solar, hydropower and other renewable sources.
Key renewable energy projects that are advancing this agenda include the solar farms in Mahdia, Wakenaam and Leguan, along with the distribution of 30,000 solar PV systems in hinterland and riverain communities. Even so, the demand for more power is expected to triple by 2030 and the government plans to meet this sharp rise in demand with the gas-to-energy project at Wales.
The massive project also includes the construction of an integrated NGL power plant, and transmission line upgrades. President Ali said these elements are progressing and the project is expected to be commissioned in 2025.
