By Lynford Simpson, Parliamentarty ReporterPAYMENTS TO over 100,000 beneficiaries under the Government's Programme of Advancement Through Health and Education (PATH) got under way last Wednesday.
However, it will be June 2003 before the full quota of 236,000 beneficiaries under the Government's social safety net programme are reached. More than twice that number had applied but were found ineligible after a rigorous screening process.
This was disclosed by Horace Dalley, Minister of Labour and Social Security when he updated the House of Representatives last Tuesday on the state of the programme.
PATH aims to bring all programmes benefiting the poor under one umbrella. It replaces the food stamp, old age and incapacity and poor relief programmes. Persons not selected for PATH but who currently benefit from these programmes will continue to receive their benefits up to June next year.
Initially each beneficiary will receive $300 per month. This will move to $375 in the second year and $500 in the third year. More than $600 million will be spent on the programme this year.
According to the Minister, the pilot phase of the programme was successfully completed in St. Catherine. Its is now being extended islandwide. The current number of beneficiaries selected represents just under 50 per cent of the programme target.
Speaking earlier during a sitting of Parliament's Standing Finance Committee to review the Supplementary Estimates, Mr. Dalley, under questioning from the Opposition, admitted that the amount of $300 per month for each beneficiary was inadequate. However, he said the Government could not afford to pay more at this time.
Mr. Dalley stressed that: "During the transition period, indepth reviews will be undertaken to ensure that genuine cases for assistance are not excluded from PATH especially in the target groups of the elderly and persons with disabilities".
He said the transition will also be used to finalise plans for institutional arrangements involving staff of the poor relief department. This includes the execution of a memorandum of understanding with the Local Authorities and review of the Poor Relief Law (1886), with a view to having it repealed and replaced by more appropriate social legislation.
A central feature of the social safety net reform, PATH, according to the Minister seeks to modernise the system for the delivery of social services while ensuring greater protection for the most vulnerable in the society. This will be achieved through a "more transparent and objective targeting mechanism and the provision of increased benefits".
Specific educational and health conditionalities are linked to the receipt of benefits. These include regular school attendance by children age 6-17 and visits to health centres by other categories of beneficiaries.
Said Dalley: "This investment in the human capital aims to break the inter-generational cycle of poverty and safeguard the health and well-being of our children, mothers, the elderly, the disabled and others in low income households experiencing a high degree of vulnerability".
