Dear Editor,
A few people working within the Ministry of Human Services and Social Protection have told me that persons receiving Senior Citizens Pension (SCP) can no longer receive disability benefits after age 65, as SSP becomes payable at age 65. Additionally, they told me that the pending cash grant of fifty thousand dollars ($50,000) for persons living with disabilities, does not apply to those persons. It warrants these questions: (1) Do disabilities vanish at age 65? (2) How could it be felt that disabled persons do not need more financial assistance than people without disabilities? (3) Is it felt that SCP for Guyanese could provide substantial assistance for a disabled person?
His Excellency, Dr. Irfaan Ali said, more or less, in his remarks with regard to disabled persons, that the cash grant is one component of a multi-layered plan designed to improve the lives of twenty seven thousand (27,000) Guyanese living with disabilities. Very catchy rhetoric but how solid and impactful? (4) How multi-layered is the payout of only SCP for persons with disabilities? Hopefully, the Honourable Minister of Human Services and Social Protection, Dr. Vindhya Persaud or someone from that Ministry, will be willing to publicly reply to these questions with humane consideration.