Audit of COVID-19 relief query forms almost complete - Dharamlall

Minister of Local Government and Regional Development Nigel Dharamlall has announced that an audit of the query forms (pink slips) for the government’s $25,000 COVID-19 relief cash grant is almost complete, paving the way for verified secondary households to benefit.

In an interview on the side-lines of the swearing in ceremony for Mayors and Deputy Mayors on Friday, Dharamlall told the Department of Public Information (DPI), “Those households who are the secondary or non-primary households, they will have to fill out a pink form. The government is in the process of having those forms audited and as soon as that process is complete then resources will be made available to be paid to the secondary households.”

Dharamlall said efforts are being made to ensure primary householders who missed the grant distribution in their neighbourhoods, benefit.

“People have reached out to me where that is concerned and we have tried to get our teams on the ground to go back to those households and get them resolved, but if that is an issue that continues, we will have to get our teams to revisit as much as possible,” he further said.

The Minister also noted that there have been other challenges faced by distribution clerks and the police, especially on the East Coast Demerara. He said some persons have been harassed and accosted. As a result, he urged the public to desist from such behaviour and to allow the process to flow smoothly.

Last September, President Irfaan Ali announced that provisions would be made for every household to benefit from the grant to help cushion the effects of the pandemic. Citizens across the country have lauded the President for this measure and have hailed the initiative as timely and necessary.