Minister Dharamlall warns fraudsters collecting flood relief

LOCAL GOVERNMENT AND REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT MINISTER NIGEL
DHARAMLALL IS THREATENING LEGAL ACTION against those receiving
government’s flood relief fraudulently.
“If people who are not legitimate collect cheques as we have done in Region Six (East
Berbice/Corentyne), we will do in Region Five (Mahaica/Berbice), we are going to call the
police on you because we don’t want anyone to get denied,” Dharamlall warned.
“Today is a manifestation of our commitment to making sure you succeed. We would like to see
you go back into production; we would like to see the genuine people receive the cheques,” the
minister said while disbursing flood relief grants to farmers in the Blairmont and Ithaca
communities in Region Five.

Fraudsters have been impersonating hard-hit farmers whose plots were decimated earlier in the
year from unexpected heavy showers, and minister Dharamlall warned them to think of the
economic consequences of denying legitimate farmers their financial assistance to help get them
back on their feet.
“If you are not a farmer and you are collecting a farmer’s cheque and you deny a farmer who
supposed to collect this cheque, he can’t provide for himself. He won’t be able to go back to the
farm, he won’t be able to take care of his family. As a result, you are going to have people who
are suffering and if that is multiplied across the country, then you can imagine how that will
spiral out of control. So, we want this process to be filled with integrity and we would like to
assure you it is not just farmers alone who are going to benefit,” he counselled.
Dharamlall said the Irfaan Ali administration remains committed to bracing the agriculture
sector. “No community is going to be left behind and don’t feel in any way that this government
is for one set of people. We are the Government of Guyana, and we are going to work with every

single person in every single village. And we are going to promote people who are serious about
the development of our country,” he declared.
The distribution of flood relief grants to farmers will enable the agriculture ministry
establish a data base on farmers across the country to help the government better support
all farmers.