Registration for $100,000 cash grant imperative to avoid duplication – Min. Singh

To minimise duplication and ensure that the process is conducted smoothly, every person eligible to receive the $100,000 one-off cash grant must be registered.

This was underscored by Senior Minister in the Office of the President with Responsibility for Finance and the Public Service, Dr Ashni Singh on Wednesday.

The minister was at the time offering additional clarity on the process, as the Committee of Supply considered the $30.5 billion supplementary provision for the distribution of the cash grant to every citizen 18 years and above.

Several opposition MPs expressed concern about the requirement for public servants to register, arguing that their identification details are already documented in payroll records.

However, Dr Singh explained that while registration is ongoing at the various public sector agencies, persons in various communities are also being registered.

“In addition to processing public servants payment simply by virtue of the fact that they are in public employment, we are also registering in the communities, and the people who work in offices also live in these communities,” the minister said.

He further emphasised, “This is a very simple, basic registration process,”

On Tuesday, Dr Singh outlined the efficient four-step process that governs this initiative. The first step is the registration exercises. Each community will have a registration schedule, essentially a list of dates, times and locations that will serve as hubs for registration.

Technical teams with pre-programmed tablets will be dispatched to gather persons’ data.

The second stage is the verification of the registrants, which Dr Singh should happen “fairly quickly”, followed by the cutting of checks.

A distribution schedule will be published, and these cheques will be disbursed in the same locations where registration occurred.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister, Brigadier (Ret’d) Mark Phillips, defended the $30.5 billion allocation in the Committee of Supply.

The PM explained that while the overall estimated cost of the intervention is $60 billion, this $30.5 billion will provide for the initial distribution phase, and the remaining funds will be sought before the end of the year.

“Registering and paying the public servants will be first, and then we move on. But everybody will be paid. We will reach everyone, even in the most difficult regions, in the shortest possible time,” he said.