Opposition senator Keisal Peters says people are being turned away and not receiving Public Assistance, even as the government says it is reviewing the social welfare programme.
Speaking on her party’s radio station, Peters, a former minister of national mobilisation, under which Public Assistance fell, said that while there was nothing sinister about conducting a review of the public assistance, it did not mean that people should be denied financial help.
Minister of Social Welfare Shevern John announced during the 2026 Budget Debate in February that her ministry would be reviewing the Public Assistance list.
Additionally, the government announced that it had initiated an official audit of the social welfare system to remove ineligible recipients from the list while facilitating economic independence.
This comes on the heels of the New Democratic Party (NDP) administration increasing the Public Assistance from EC$360 to $500 monthly.
However, Peters said that there is more to the NDP’s announced attempt to clean up the Public Assistance list.
“This review is not just a review for review sake, it is a review to clean up the mess that they have increased public assistance, but the moneys allocated in the budget, it is not enough,” she said.
“It is not enough for public assistance and it is not enough for the other types of grants that the ministry can offer,” Peters said.
The government pretends to give more but intends to give less, Peters said.
She noted that there is a Public Assistance Board responsible for determining who qualifies for public assistance, with recipients including people over the age of 65, people with disabilities and people who are medically unfit to work.
“So, in order to qualify, you have to fall within one of these categories and of course, the documented evidence has to be provided to the board members and then they will deliberate who gets on.”
Peters added that the Unity Labour Party government also conducted a review of the public assistance list in 2022.
“But when we embarked on the review, persons were still able to come into the ministry and collect interim payments for interim assistance,” she said.
“… I am reliably informed that under this 2026 review, that people are being turned away and I am calling on the Ministry of Social Welfare and the minister to do better,” Peters said.
Miss muppet it will be good to know the number of single parents (males) on the list that the ULP left. The former administration had so many people on that list, who were not deserving; an overall look at rhe list must be done before continuing. Ir seems like madam Peters is a bit scared of what might be revealed when the list clean up is completed.
Yellow is the code..we’re in for a rude awakening and a rough ride in Vincy..not a time for weak leadership..as a people,we deserve whatever the consequences are, of the choices we made. We as black people have to learn to think objectively and rationally rather than emotionally.
The ULP has now positioned itself as the saviour of all poor people.
there are people on this list that not deserving to be there only taking from tax payers, its the most corrupted list there is, investigation needs to be conducted and the list needs to be updated that’s simple common sense, you have to let the people be independent, not dependent, and some persons should only be temporary until you get a job, ULP has been doing this thing wrong all along, and they want to promote laziness, no wonder why nobody wants to learn a skill or enroll themselves in meaningful programs or even farm, or fish or do some crafts, cooking, just free money .