Guyana, January 19, 2025 – The old age pension in Guyana is set to increase to $41,000 per month, effective January 1, 2025. The total pension payout for 2025 is projected to exceed $37 billion.

This was announced by Senior Minister within the Office of the President with responsibility for Finance and Public Service, Dr. Ashni Singh, during his 2025 budget presentation at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre on Friday.

“In keeping with a commitment that we gave in our manifesto, with effect from the 1st of January 2025, old age pension will be paid at a rate of $20,500 multiplied by two equal $41,000 per month,” the minister stated.

This measure will inject an additional $4.5 billion into the economy by increasing the disposable income of the 76,000 old age pensioners.

The total pension payout for 2025 is projected to exceed $37 billion, Dr Singh revealed.

The old age pension has seen significant increases in recent years: $36,000 in 2024, $33,000 in 2023, $28,000 in 2022, and $25,000 in 2021. Since the PPP/C government assumed office in 2020, the old age pension has increased by 75%.

Furthermore, the minister announced that public assistance will also increase from $19,000 to $22,000 per month.

“This will place in the hands of the recipients of the public assistants an additional $1.4 billion of around 40,000 persons,” Minister Singh said.

These major investments will significantly bring relief to citizens, cushioning their pockets and easy the cost of living in the country.

Montego Bay, Jamaica, January 18, 2025 – Three hundred agricultural wardens are to be trained over the next three years to combat praedial larceny and other agricultural crimes, says Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Mining, Hon. Floyd Green.

“These wardens are police officers who will be tasked to treat with agricultural crimes, and they will be deployed in praedial larceny hotspots,” he said.

Minister Green, who was speaking to journalists following a recent tour of the Frome Sugar Factory in Westmoreland, said that the recruitment of officers has already begun and training is slated to commence this quarter.

The idea is to roll out 100 wardens annually over the three years, he noted.

“What you will see this year is more boots on the ground in our agricultural wardens programme, [and] we should see the deployment of our first set of agricultural wardens this year,” he said.

Minister Green said that a critical area of focus for the wardens will be targeting stolen livestock and addressing irregularities in butcheries, where organised crime has taken root.

The wardens will the tasked to clean up markets that may be complicit in the sale of stolen livestock, he noted.

Minister Green said that the wardens programme is part of a broader collaboration with the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) to establish a specialised division to tackle agricultural crimes.

Such a division, he noted, would not only oversee the deployment of personnel but also work closely with farmers to implement strategies aimed at safeguarding their livelihood.

“We are also going to set up farmers’ watch groups and bring in technologies to help the farmers keep their areas safe. We are taking praedial larceny very seriously,” he said.

Penalties for agricultural theft have been significantly increased, with maximum fines moving from $250,000 to $3 million, and prison sentences extended from six months to three years.

Contact: Okoye Henry

Release: JIS

Kingston, Jamaica, January 18, 2025 – Prime Minister, Dr. the Most Hon. Andrew Holness, has reiterated the Government’s commitment to ensuring that all Jamaicans have access to affordable housing solutions.

He noted that there is an imbalance between housing supply and affordability, with many qualified individuals struggling to find solutions within their income bracket.

“The issue is not the finance; it’s that people who qualify can’t get the houses that are available on the market,” he pointed out, while addressing a recent meeting with the National Leadership Prayer Breakfast Committee at the Office of the Prime Minister.

He explained that the market is producing homes primarily for those with higher income, leaving a gap for low and middle-income families.

In addition, he noted that houses priced at $12 million are often sold for $18 million due to market demand dynamics.

“What we want to do is to get the market to produce houses in all categories,” he said, stressing the need for affordable options alongside high-end developments.

“We need developers who can build houses at scale to bring down costs and make housing more affordable,” he stressed.

The Prime Minister noted the role of the National Housing Trust (NHT) in financing low-income and achievable housing projects.

“We’re doing everything to create what is called effective demand,” he said, noting that the Guaranteed Purchase Programme was introduced as a strategic measure to mitigate market risks for developers.

“We say to developers; you build the houses, we buy them at a specific price and then we sell them at an affordable price,” he detailed.

This approach aims to encourage developers to construct homes without fearing financial losses.

“Government can’t build houses; what we can do is use resources to finance affordable housing and say, ‘you can only get this finance if you sell at this price’,” he pointed out.

The Prime Minister cited other initiatives aimed at making housing more affordable, including reducing the interest rates on mortgages, with some low-income borrowers benefiting from a zero per cent interest rate.

Efforts are under way to deliver 43,000 houses over the next few years as part of a broader strategy to meet housing demands.

CONTACT: ANDREW LAIDLEY

Release: JIS