$25,000 public servants’ grant is Gov’t catering to the needs of its people – AG Nandlall

Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs, Hon. Mohabir Anil Nandlall SC says the $25,000 one-off grant for public servants is yet another demonstration of the Government delivering and catering to the needs of its citizens.

The Attorney General made this statement following President Dr. Mohamed Irfaan Ali’s announcement of the grant on Thursday.

AG Nandlall noted that the Government has rolled out an abundance of measures and initiatives in the 2020 Emergency Budget to help persons grappling with the effects of the Covid pandemic.

This includes removing value-added tax on water and electricity, increasing old age pension and reversing hundreds of fees incurred on licences.  The Minister said this has amounted to over $80 billion in disposable income. Additionally, the Government gave bonuses to frontline workers and the Disciplined Forces, and $25,000 per household COVID-19 relief cash grant.

“If all of that is not enough, at this late moment, Government of Guyana has extended another measure, that is to pay every public sector employee $25,000 as another measure to help cope with the challenges presented and associated with the Covid pandemic.

“I say that to say that in excess of 60,000 families will again benefit from this initiative and this will cost the Government $2 billion more, but Government thought it best, and in the people’s interest, that they can have as much as Government can afford to assist them to cope with the challenges, with demands and the peculiarities that they have to face in this pandemic,” he said.

Minister Nandlall said the only category of public sector workers not benefitting from initiative are the Ministers of Government. He said when contrasted with the previous administration, the public can see who has their interest at heart.

“You have one that took a humongous salary increase only for themselves and you have on the other hand, a series and a plethora of policies and measures that have gone to the population from which Ministers are not benefitting,” the Attorney General said.

The AG said Guyanese can look forward to similar measures and initiatives to be rolled out by the Government in budget 2021, which is expected to be ready in February.