Government’s position on providing social welfare assistance is also designed to prepare those on assistance programs for future employment.
Minister for Social Welfare Dr Jiko Luveni pointed this out while highlighting how more people living below the poverty live will have access to government’s social welfare assistance.
This is following the 2013 budget announcement by the Prime Minister Commodore Voreqe Bainimarama on the new Poverty Benefit Scheme (PBS) and Social Pension Scheme (SPS) to provide assistance to those in need.
Under the Poverty Benefit Scheme, Dr Luveni said a household will receive a maximum of $150 per month, inclusive of a $30 food voucher.
“Nearly 13,000 poor households will benefit, and this will increase the coverage of our poor population from the current 3 per cent to 10 per cent. The total budget for this program is $22.6 million.
“The stringent criteria adopted to qualify for Poverty Benefit Scheme will ensure deserving cases only, evidenced by their everyday lifestyles, are supported, that is the poorest of the poor. The family support approach rather than the individual will increase beneficiaries and mediate poverty living to improve opportunities for a decent family life,” she said.
Dr Luveni added that the Government will target assistance to families especially in cases where it will allow them to move from the dependence on aid to finding employment.
“The onus will also be on the families to work towards supplementing the government assistance. With an allocation next year of $500,000, the “Welfare Graduation Scheme”focuses on moving recipients from “welfare to workfare.” Fiji cannot support a culture of dependency. Some recipients in this programme have already set up their own businesses and channeled into permanent employment,” Dr Luveni said.
Those 70 years and above will benefit from Social Pension Scheme and more than 9000 have already been targeted to be assisted under this new scheme.
“The recent World Bank report on the Social Welfare scheme identified that poverty living is experienced more in families caring for old age. For the first time, Government has introduced the pensions for persons aged 70 years and over, who do not have any form of income or pension, or who have never been part of a superannuation scheme will be assisted under this scheme. The budget for this program is $3.2 million.
“The social pension will ensure that elderly are no longer a burden on their families and it will also enable them to live their lives with respect and dignity. This assistance emanates from the Fiji’s Ageing Policy which was launched last year by the government,” Dr Luveni reiterated.
The other two major programs which will be administered by Social Welfare Ministry next year are the
Care and Protection Program, which targets disadvantaged children, with a budget of $5.9 million.
Children must be under the age of 18 years and must be attending school. Allowances will cease once the children reach 18 years.
The subsidised bus fare program will continue for the elderly and the disabled persons.
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