Guyana’s government will offer old-age pensioners a one-off grant of $28,000 as part of a new $1.8 billion welfare measure to put money in the pockets of these vulnerable individuals by December 31.

President, Dr. Irfaan Ali, announced on Thursday via his Facebook page said that since his election in 2020 his government continues to emphasize ensuring that the lives of all Guyanese are improved, particularly the most vulnerable groups in society.

“Among these, we have focused on our senior citizens, recognizing that they have served our country and the society within which they live for decades,” the President said.

He added, “I am pleased, this evening [Thursday], to announce the payment of additional one-off grants of $28,000 to be paid to every single old-age pensioner before the end of 2022.

This new announcement of this one-off grant will provide an additional $1.8 billion of disposable income to our pensioners. In addition, our seniors continue to benefit from across-the-board investments that my government is making in areas that improve the public healthcare system.”

This will be the second one-off grant that pensioners will be receiving, the first was $25,000 in 2021.

The grants are among several measures that the Ali-led administration has implemented since 2020 to improve the lives of pensioners.

Chief among them is the increase in the old-age pension from $20,500 in 2020 to $28,000 in 2022, and the reintroduction of water subsidy to the group.

“For our senior citizen, I wish to say the government will continue to honor and respect the service you’ve given to our countries over the years, as we continue to take all the steps necessary to ensure that the quality of life you enjoy continues to improve in every regard,” President Ali said.

Persons living with disabilities have also been benefiting from government initiatives including a one-off $25,000 cash grant, while parents of children living with disabilities received one-off cash grants of $100,000 per child with a disability.

Other beneficiaries of government programs are the fisherfolks who have been receiving a one-off $150,000 grant; farmers; $1 billion in fertilizer support, geared at addressing the rising cost of living induced by the COVID-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) recently commended the Government of Guyana for implementing effective policies to cushion the burden of high global commodity prices.