Approximately 16,000 public assistance recipients have begun benefiting from government grants and the Human Services Ministry is advising others to visit their respective post offices to uplift their vouchers for the first half of the year.
Deputy Chief Probation and Social Services Officer Dindyal Singh said that the books were sent to the officers responsible for distribution in Regions Two, Six and Ten, the Government Infor-mation Agency (GINA) reported. About 13,000 public assistance books were sent to these regions.
According to Singh the books will be distributed twice annually since the beneficiaries have to undergo a periodic review every six months.
However, there are more that 16,000 persons on the public assistance database at the ministry, and Singh said this is likely to increase in the coming months, GINA reported.
Additionally, government is also providing social assistance to thousands of Guyanese who are considered to be living in difficult circumstances.
Assistance is granted in the form of medical expenses, medical supplies, prostheses and financial assistance to start small businesses, among other areas. For 2006, in excess of 30,000 Guyanese benefited from these services, GINA stated.
