$531m injection for social grants

MINISTER of Social Development Donna Cox will get an extra half billion dollars to help the vulnerable.

This was borne out during Friday's sitting of the Standing Finance Committee (SFC) of the House of Representatives.

However, following news of an extra 2,000 people seeking social relief, Cox told the Newsday the ministry is doing to a review of its programs to ensure only those who are truly in need of support benefit from such assistance.

The House itself sits on Monday to debate the committee’s changes, in the Finance (Variation of Appropriation) (Financial Year 2021) Bill, 2022.

The committee voted to shift $574 million from the Ministry of Finance to three other heads – chiefly the social development ministry ($531 million) – plus the Judiciary ($35 million) and Personnel Department ($8.6 million). It also wrote off $8 million in losses, namely for the Auditor General ($1.4 million), Ministry of Education ($1.3 million) and Ministry of Trade ($5.3 million.)

Finance Minister Colm Imbert told the committee the $574 million came from savings in his ministry regarding the Caribbean Development Bank, GATE, the Agriculture Development Bank, TTMF, Udecott, eTeck and another company.

Cox said the $531 million was comprised of an extra $418 million towards the senior citizens grant (which rose to $4.236 billion), $13 million for social assistance (totalling $353 million) and $99 million extra for disability grant (totalling $622 million.)

In reply to Princes Town MP Barry Padarath, Cox said 876 more people received the senior citizens grant (which in all now has 8,716 beneficiaries), 572 more got the disability grant and 767 more the public assistance.

Chaguanas East MP Vandana Mohit asked if the total allocation would be enough. Cox said the ministry was assessing this.

Padarath asked if the ministry was reviewing the eligibility criteria to access grants. Cox replied, "Not just to come on board, but there's a review of the grants at this time."

She later told Newsday, "We want to ensure the people the grants are intended for receive them. Your situation might have changed.

"It was supposed to be done. It was not being done. Our costs keep going up and up. There are people whose situation would have changed. Other people may have to benefit.

"We are not just reviewing people coming on, but the whole system. "

Newsday asked Minister in the Ministry of Finance Brian Manning about the committee’s changes.

He said, "We've had to improve our social safety net in this time of covid. A lot of persons out there are requiring assistance, especially with what's going on with the economy.

"It's really to protect the most vulnerable people in our society and help them through this difficult time in the entire world economy."

Newsday asked why such a big adjustment coming so soon after the budget.

Manning replied, "Well the budget couldn't predict the future. Of course the budget is just an estimate. Certain things may have happened. The Government might have decided to increase its hamper programme and other programmes designed to protect the vulnerable. The budget is just an estimate. It is not a final figure. So things change."

Newsday asked about the $80 million his ministry saved on GATE.

"Less persons would have tried to access the programme – less than we had estimated." He said some people may have decided not to enter programmes, while some programmes were cancelled.

Newsday asked if the use of rental funds for the Personnel Department to pay public servants salaries meant the Government had money worries.

He replied, "No. During this time the Government would have to prioritise its spending, where they want to put scare resources to most benefit the people of TT."

Manning said such a re-prioritisation did not mean the original allocations would not be paid eventually.

He said international agencies had lauded the Government's handling of the economy in this very critical time. He said despite no one knowing how long the pandemic will last, the Government would do all it could to protect the citizenry. Manning said when things change, the Government must change its spending prioritisation.

Asked where his ministry's $574 million in savings came from, he said from projects no longer under way.

He said if fewer people buy houses, the Government subsidy to the TTMF's two per cent interest rate would fall.

Likewise, Udecott was doing fewer projects that usual, perhaps due to the covid19 slowdown.

"There may be a slowdown in some mega projects and more of an influx of funding into the more bread and butter issues projects within the communities."