STATE Minister for Social Services and Urban Development Lisa Rahming.
By EARYEL BOWLEG
Tribune Staff Reporter
ebowleg@tribunemedia.net
STATE Social Services and Urban Development Minister Lisa Rahming said on Friday her ministry has been distributing “a little over $100” for those in need of social assistance.
In October, Social Services and Urban Development Minister Obie Wilchcombe said officials were working to introduce a new food programme to replace the previous one.
He was referring to a possible reintroduction of visa debit cards that were used by the Christie administration for people eligible for social benefits. At the time he said this was “absolutely” possible.
On the sidelines of an International Human Rights Day event, Ms Rahming was asked about the initiative.
While she could not say exactly when the full roll out would be, the minister of state said monetary provisions would be given.
Ms Rahming said: “I specifically cannot give you a date for the roll out because this portion now is not under our control.
“However, we have allowed recently for persons who have applied – they’re getting more than they usually get. So, we have added them on to the programme and we consider it and I would say somewhat permanent until we’re able to give them those cards that they expect,” she also told reporters.
“What usually was given was sometimes $50, $75, $80 - depending on the family and who’s a part of the family and so we have captured a little over $100 across the board,” the state minister also said.
Mr Wilchcombe had previously said the ministry had inherited about 4,000 Bahamians needing assistance, but expected that number to increase.
The minister of state admitted yesterday to seeing a high demand from the public.
“We’ve found an increase,” she said “There’s a lot of persons because of the pandemic. A lot of people aren’t employed. I know from the statistics that we’ve gotten when we first came in and all the reports that we’re getting from the workers at the different centres they’re indicating there’s a high volume of persons who are asking for assistance.”
She further said: “We’re doing the best with what we can. So, we’re moving funds that were allocated for this and moving here and there. So, it’s shuffling to make sure that people eat especially during this holiday time.”
Meanwhile, Ms Rahming urged people to try to make a means for income to supplement the assistance from government.
“We don’t just pay your rent for you to go and live somewhere and find out you don’t have a job and then what’s going to happen then? Really it’s for persons who could somewhat assure us that they could get some sort of assistance on the outside so they don’t always depend on the state.”
As for persons who do not have a job and are in need of assistance, she explained there is a one-time payment of $1,200 the ministry gives each year while family and friends are encouraged to help.
Comments
joeblow 2 years, 4 months ago
... this socialist approach to problems will destroy this country. Repatriate 5000 illegal immigrants or rescind work permits for people with jobs Bahamians an fill and that will create 5000 posts that can be filled by people who want to work. The country's debt level is unsustainable, can't these people get that?
ThisIsOurs 2 years, 4 months ago
She realizes that as she said
"We don’t just pay your rent for you to go and live somewhere and find out you don’t have a job and then what’s going to happen then? Really it’s for persons who could somewhat assure us that they could get some sort of assistance on the outside so they don’t always depend on the state."
Also social services is reinstituting the Rise program, by its stated goals it was very well designed. Families would receive assistance but would have goals attached to thst assistance that they had to meet. The goals were specifically designed to get them off of social services. I recall the program was discontinued and got very poor ratings from the IDB for execution. Hopefully this time they have a project team who can see to execution of the program to meet its social and reporting objectives
Emilio26 2 years, 4 months ago
Joeblow I don't you understand that the elites in Lyford Cay, Old Fort Bay, Albany and Paradise Island will be very upset if the government sends their foreign maids and caretakers back to their country of origin besides most of the people that you see working in those gated communities are either Filipino, Haitian, Cuban, Mexican or El Salvadorians. I think we can all come to the realization that rich foreigners and even some wealthy bahamians don't want bahamian maids and caretakers on their premises.
bahamianson 2 years, 4 months ago
Well, there is also something to discuss in regarda to Bahamian maids and gardeners. Bahamian maids and gardeners gi back to their neighborhoods and discuss personal informatikn with the local boys. The local boys now know when the owners of the said house will not be home etc. Foreign maids may not have local connections. I wokld gather that stealingnof personal property is much higher among local maids vs foreign maids.
tribanon 2 years, 4 months ago
ZZZZZZzzzzzzz......
GodSpeed 2 years, 4 months ago
Indeed there is an army of Haitians, Jamaicans and other foreigners in this country occupying jobs that would otherwise be done by Bahamians who would need to be paid a fair wage. Besides that... Gas stations, Supermarkets, Fast Food restaurants, you can hear foreigners all the time. Not to mention those foreigners in more prestigious white collar positions. There must be hundreds of Haitians at least that I've seen personally wearing black and white uniforms who clean Atlantis during the nighttime and can barely speak English. The political class no doubt benefits from cheap foreign labor otherwise it would be easy to crackdown on if they actually cared. There are many that manipulate the system and sell out their own country.
tribanon 2 years, 4 months ago
Bingo!
Bobsyeruncle 2 years, 4 months ago
There's a lot of truth in what you say, but you also need to consider work ethics and sense of entitlement.
It's somewhat akin to the Hispanic farm laborers, gardeners, maids & fast food workers in the US, who do the job that most Americans feel is below them. It's going to be interesting to see what happens in the next 15-20 years as the children of these low paid laborers are now getting a college education and certainly don't expect to be 'working' the fields (like their parents did) with their college degree.
tribanon 2 years, 4 months ago
There never would have been such a great demand for foreign menial labourers in the more developed countries had their wealthy ruling class and corruptible politicians not succumbed to the insatiable appetite of capitalism for profits at the expense of a fair day's pay for a fair day's work effort.
Bobsyeruncle 2 years, 4 months ago
Agreed, but I don't know what the solution is.
If you start paying laborers, maids, fast food workers etc. a comparable salary to a college educated position, imagine how much the cost of goods & services will increase. No matter which way you cut it. businesses are in business to make money, not to lose it, so capitalism isn't going away any time soon. Just look at how your favorite Asian country has boomed ever since the US succeeded in pressuring it into opening up it's economy to the world. Given the opportunity most of us are capitalists at heart, just with different degrees of expectation.
tribanon 2 years, 4 months ago
There's capitalism of the level playing field kind with equal opportunity for all willing to take the business risks involved and then there's capitalism of the evil crony kind which strangles fair competition, stifles innovation and rewards only the corrupt few. There's nothing wrong with being a capitalist willing to compete on a level playing field under rules that fairly apply to all.
Economies thrive under healthy unadulterated capitalism whereas they quickly become stagnant and debt burdened under crony capitalism exacerbated by greedy corrupt politicians. The Bahamas knows all of this first hand; it's a text book example of the devastating affects of the wrong kind of capitalism.
truetruebahamian 2 years, 4 months ago
These d- average politician is beginning to burst forth and the d- average 'Bahamian' voter identifies with likeness - almost a half century of miserable leadership and voters who think that rubbish is wonderful
sheeprunner12 2 years, 4 months ago
This welfare crap has to stop. Govt needs to make a better economy and stop making ppl beggars
themessenger 2 years, 4 months ago
Right on Ma Brudda Sheep, as WSC once said “the inherent vice of capitalism is the unequal sharing of blessings, the inherent virtue of socialism is the equal sharing of miseries.”
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