Dennis: Tobagonians continue to get $upport

Tobagonians in need of support will continue to receive assistance from the Tobago House of Assembly (THA), according to THA Chief Secretary and Secretary of Tourism Ancil Dennis

At Wednesday’s post-Executive Council media briefing in Scarborough, Dennis said, thus far, the Assembly has supported Tobago-based businesses, especially those in the tourism sector that are experiencing significant difficulty.

He said: “We have supported businesses through our Business Development Unit to the tune of over $5 million in grants (and) loans to ensure that in most instances, those businesses were able to make the necessary adjustments and to have a good chance of survival during this difficult period.”

In addition, he said that through the Division of Health, Wellness and Family Development's Community Social Services Unit, Tobagonians have been assisted with over $3 million, “to ensure that those who are unemployed, those who have found themselves retrenched due to this pandemic are able to stay in their homes through our rental support grants.”

He stressed, “We continue to do what is required as far as possible; we continue to work hard, of course there are some persons who have not yet received the support but we have a team of social workers who are trying their absolute best to ensure that we process these support grants as quickly as possible, while at the same time ensuring that we protect taxpayers money and we protect the public purse from the kind of abuse that has the potential to happen during circumstances like this.”

Asked why some people have not received support as yet, Dennis said there are a number of reasons.

“In most cases they would have at least received a response and the response at this time is that we are working feverishly to ensure that we are able to respond to all the applications.

“In some cases applications may have been misplaced or submitted in the wrong places. In some cases persons submitted applications without all the documentation and in other cases, some persons do not qualify for the support. So, there are a myriad of reasons why persons may not have received the support, but we are as far as possible, trying to process all,” he said.

He added: “I call almost every day. I call the Secretary or maybe her Assistant Secretary inquiring about the status of grants for a number of persons who reach out to me on a daily basis. So, I am going to simply ask persons, as difficult as it is... we are trying our very best to give the support to all the persons that qualify for the support at this point in time.”