More Government grants are coming for those who are being negatively affected by the economic downturn, with special attention to be paid to those who lost their jobs.
The good news, coming some five months before this year’s local government elections, was announced by the Ministry of Social Development and Family Services on Wednesday as it launched the first of four social dialogues to be held across T&T.
“The ministry already provides numerous grants and services to assist the poor and the vulnerable but we know we can and must do better,” Minister Cherrie-Ann Crichlow-Cockburn announced during a feature address at the launch at the University Inn and Conference Centre on the St Augustine Campus.
She added: “As a first step we are looking internally at our processes and delivery to identify how we can improve those (grants) as to provide more efficient and relevant products and services to our clients.”
The dialogues will take place over the next two weeks and has been titled “Building Resilience to Secure our Nation”.
The ministry’s aim is to get views from the national community on how to develop a National Social Mitigation Plan.
The large crowd of NGOs, youth organisations, trade unions and private sector representatives which was expected did not turn up. A small crowd was seated around tables.
A ministry source, responding to questions from the T&T Guardian on the number of people who had their grants stopped and whether new grants are coming, said thousands had their food cards stopped because they failed the Government’s means test.
“There is a perception we would have stopped food cards from those who didn’t deserve them. People were called in to go over a new analysis and workers would have gone to their homes to do investigations,” she said.
As for the $500 Baby Grant, which was introduced by the last Kamla Persad-Bissessar administration and stopped by the PNM when it came into power after September 7, the ministry source said that was stopped because of the widespread number of grants given to the vulnerable.
He said not only more grants will be given out but they will be given out after a robust means test and would cater to people generally negatively impacted by the economic downturn.
The ministry would consolidate with other ministries which also gave out grants to avoid the “double dipping” by citizens, the source said.
In her address, Crichlow-Coburn citizens said should prepare for change.
“I expect the strategies that will comprise the National Social Mitigation Plan may require changes to current programmes and policies and the creation of new tools and responses to effectively support people, jobs, investments and businesses,” she added.