GEORGETOWN, Guyana — Guyana’s Director of Public Information, Eddy Layne, is dismissing recent commentary from the We Invest in Nationhood (WIN) Party as “cheap political hustling,” accusing the group and its embattled leader of deliberately misleading the public about the Government’s cash-grant programme and attempting to manufacture relevance ahead of the Administration’s planned year-end economic measures.
Layne, in a Facebook Post on Sunday, said WIN’s daily criticism is a calculated attempt to create the impression that the party is pressuring the Government into announcing a holiday cash grant. “This is bottom-tier political theatre,” he said, adding that the PPP/C Government “does not need to be pressured into doing what it has long committed to.” He noted that WIN’s leader, who faces tax-evasion and gold-smuggling allegations, “entered politics seeking cover for criminal conduct,” and should instead “count down the days until extradition to the United States to answer for those crimes.”
According to Layne, WIN is trying to “claim mileage out of a done deal,” since both President Dr. Irfaan Ali and Vice President Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo publicly affirmed, since January, that cash grants would continue periodically as part of a broader empowerment agenda. “Your cash grant is secure, your Christmas is going to be bright, and the Government will do what it has always done—deliver,” Layne said.
President Ali has repeatedly addressed attempts to misrepresent the Administration’s commitments. At GuyExpo 2025, as carried by the Guyana Chronicle, he said: “You don’t need to remind us about our commitments—whether it’s cash grants, incentives, subsidies. We know what our commitments are, and we are going to deliver on every one of them—faster, better, greater. Find your place. Stay in your lane. Don’t get beside yourself.”
The Government recently signalled a major policy shift with plans to unveil a five-year national blueprint aimed at rapid economic expansion and transformative infrastructure. President Ali made the disclosure during his feature address at the Guyana Oil and Gas Energy Chamber (GOGEC) Awards, stressing that Guyana’s unprecedented economic rise must be matched by a comprehensive system of citizen empowerment. He said the blueprint is designed to ensure that the nation’s progress is shared equitably while strengthening household resilience, expanding opportunities and modernising national infrastructure.
Over the past two months, the President has foreshadowed a wide-ranging year-end economic-support package targeting every demographic group. As reported by Newsroom on Nov. 5, he said: “I am going to announce, before the end of the year, a series of measures, not only looking at cash grants, but looking at the total empowerment of every Guyanese—whether someone living with a disability, the elderly, children, women, small businesses, farmers—every category.”
Layne underscored that these public pronouncements significantly predate the recent political rhetoric from WIN. He said the party’s singular focus on cash grants exposes a narrow, opportunistic agenda, while the Government is advancing a wider, long-term empowerment strategy. Since taking office in 2020, the PPP/C Administration has introduced a series of support measures—including the restored Because We Care grant, the Newborn Grant, the $25,000 COVID-19 household payment, annual increases to old-age pension and public assistance, tax reductions, broad cost-of-living measures, and targeted relief for farmers, fisherfolk, sugar workers and vulnerable communities.
Layne said this track record reflects the Administration’s established policy that direct transfers are continuous and structured—not ad hoc political giveaways. He pointed to President Ali’s New Year’s address, reported by the Guyana Chronicle on Jan. 3, in which the Head of State stated: “This is not a one-time payment. We are committed to making future direct cash transfers to our citizens. This is the beginning of a sustained programme of direct economic transfers.”
Vice President Jagdeo reinforced the position the same day, telling Newsroom that “The cash grant is not one-off; it will continue periodically.”
As Guyana enters its most accelerated phase of development, the Government maintains that the forthcoming five-year blueprint—paired with the planned year-end measures—will ensure that national growth is translated into broad, equitable and sustainable improvements in citizens’ lives. Layne said the Administration remains focused on delivering tangible empowerment, while others remain “focused on theatrics and deception.”
“Guyana is moving forward,” he said. “No amount of cheap political hustling will distract from that.”