Government accused of weaponising cash grant distribution against targeted Region Four villages

STAFF OF THE DEMERARA/MAHAICA (REGION FOUR) REGIONAL
DEMOCRATIC COUNCIL (RDC) WANT OPPOSITION COUNCILLORS LAUNCH A
PROBE into the Government’s COVID Cash Grant distribution scheme claiming it is riddled
with massive fraud.
RDC Four staffers are fingering at least one Peoples Progressive Party Civic (PPP/C) Councillor
who they say is the leader of a corrupt gang preparing bogus lists for unqualified persons to
benefit illegally from the government-rum financial programme set up to help citizens badly hurt
by the COVID 19 pandemic.
This media house is in receipt of some evidence purporting to show distribution of the COVID
Cash Grant redirected to unqualified residents, thus denying those targeted by the government
cash-relief programme.
www.aroundtheregions.com investigations have found several households on the East Bank and
East Coast corridors mysteriously scratched from the relief exercise list. When confronted, a
senior regional official claimed “it was an accident” and promised to rectify the situation.
Despite the promises made months ago, sources close to the distribution verified that it was not
done. The senior regional official subsequently pleaded ignorance.
There is also documented evidence secured by this media house showing a few residents from
Enmore and Enterprise villages, on the east coast, a PPP/C political stronghold, who collected
the relief cash grant multiple times.
Some unapologetic PPP/C supporters admit their uneasiness at the blatant discrimination in the
distribution process.
“Plenty of us support the PPP and always supporting the PPP, but there are some of our own
supporters who, so greedy, that they give themselves the money twice and thrice, and that isn’t
fair because many of them who got it more than once are financially capable,” an Enmore
resident disclosed.

The resident wants a fair and honest investigation into the fraud. The east coast resident is
willing too to provide some evidence that will implicate several persons involved in the cash
grant distribution managed by Regional Councillor, Deoraj Nauth.
Nauth, has always been identified in corruption in RDC Four since the PPP won the 2020 polls.
The educator by profession, has been muscling himself around RDC 4, bullying staff, including
the DREO and AREO.
“We don’t know if the DREO or the AREO are afraid of this man or what, but what we know is
that whatever he says it’s acted upon and there have been numerous complaints by residents who
have complained about not receiving their monies while others have pointed out several persons
who were not entitled but were able to secure monies.”
“This is not a case of Deoraj (Nauth) being ignorant as he is a teacher who has lived all of his life
at Enmore. So, he knows most or if not, all the residents. But he feels that because his party is in
office, he can do whatever he feels,” an employee complained.
The employee added that Nauth knows a lot of residents from Haslington, Victoria and Golden
Grove, predominantly Afro-Guyanese villages, as a result of his many years as a teacher. They
are therefore now perplexed why the well-known school teacher is spearheading a vendetta
against them.
A resident who told this publication that her name was mysteriously deleted from the list of
beneficiaries, explaining it must have been because she “campaigned hard” for the coalition
during the run up to the 2020 National and Regional elections.
“They (the government) want people like me to behave bad and say certain things which will
give them reasons to fire us, so I have stayed quiet not out of fear, but looking in the long term it
is wise that I stay quiet,” she explained.
She said that the opposition Councillors at the RDC badly erred by failing to properly document
legitimate residents maliciously denied the cash grant.
“I know and heard of many stories about people who got the grant and those who didn’t,
and like everything else, these matters will be swept under the carpet,” she lamented.