Social Welfare Allowances to Increase

ood news for more than 55,000 recipients of the Fijian social welfare assistance.

Minister for Women, Children and Poverty Alleviation Lynda Tabuya said the coalition Government would increase the social welfare allowance soon.

She said the new amount would be announced later after Government’s consultations with stakeholders.

Recipients of the pension social scheme receive $50 and disability allowance scheme receive $90 allowances monthly without food vouchers.

Allowance for the poverty benefit scheme is dependent on the household assessment carried out by the social welfare office, so as those benefiting from the care and protection allowance which is for single parents and for children whose both parents are in prison.

Recipients of the poverty benefit scheme and the care and protection allowance receive a food voucher of $50 monthly.

“The budget for these assistants has been allocated in the 2022 to 2023 Budget which was announced by the former Minister for Economy, Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum last year,” she said.

“We are now in the second half of the 2022 to 2023 financial year. It will be presented by my ministry to the Cabinet.” Ms Tabuya said Government’s education assistance to families whose annual earning was below $50,000 could help families they help in their social welfare schemes. “I am very proud and fully support the back-to-school initiative of $200 for families in need. It helps the ministry to supplement what we have already given to those in need.

“That already is a form of increase so to speak of this allowance for those of our recipients who are under the threshold of $50,000. So, this will help them in terms of their need to help their children to go back to school.”

She said it was a commitment of the coalition Government to review the social welfare allowances.

Audit

Ms Tabuya said the ministry was currently undergoing an audit.

The audit would show how successful the assistance handed out by the ministry had been successful over the years.

It will also assist in drawing up a new strategic plan as the last one had expired.

Street dwellers

There is an increase of street dwellers in Suva.

From an exercise undertaken by the ministry, there are:

39 homeless people in Suva City 21 were adults between the age of 18 to 59 years,

16 were children under 18 years

2 were older persons.

Ms Tabuya said the ministry was working in collaboration with partners to try to understand the issues faced by those on the streets.

“We are in the process of engaging our stakeholders and faith-based organisations to see if we can create a safe space for street dwellers,” she said.

“Most of these street dwellers when they see a social welfare officer with a police officer they run away.

“We want to work with a faith-based organisation to create a safe environment, even if it’s just offering a meal from a safe venue. This is something we are looking at.”

She said some of them had psychosocial issues and they needed special attention.

Child labour

The ministry has received reports of some children under the age of 15 selling pastries and produce, day and night on the streets without adult supervision.

Ms Tabuya said this was considered as child labour.

However children over the age of 15 selling pastries and produce with the approval of parents are not considered as child labour. She said the ministry was concerned about children who have been doing these for years.

“We need to put together our database of families in need because if they receive social welfare assistance then we would provide for them,” she said.

“This way the children will not have to go out in the streets and sell pastries and produce.

“For the ministry, we would like to come voluntarily rather than seeking them out simply because we have met the child on the street and we want to get information about his parents.

“A child like any human being has rights to privacy and we are not going to seek out that information but only to an extent we feel that the child is in danger,” she said.

She said the ministry did not want a child to be used for illegal purposes.