‘Wheel and come again’

ARGUING THAT the CARE programmes introduced by the Government to date were inadequate to protect thousands of poor, vulnerable Jamaicans, Opposition Spokesman on Finance Mark Golding is suggesting that bimonthly disbursements of compassionate grants be paid out to the needy for the duration of the economic crisis.

With the window for accessing compassionate grants closed abruptly in mid-April, Golding, on Wednesday night, reiterated the Opposition’s call for this assistance programme to be reopened.

Charging that the Government has been “unduly conservative” as it tackles the dire needs arising from the COVID pandemic, the Opposition’s point man on finance said that a strong and effective fiscal response was needed to mitigate the worst effects of this crisis.

“The Government will need to wheel and come again,” said Golding.

INSUFFICIENT

The extra month’s payment to beneficiaries of the Programme for Advancement Through Health and Education has also been characterised as insufficient, with Golding pushing for a substantial increase in the benefit until the economic crisis relents.

In his contribution to debate on the First Supplementary Estimates of Expenditure, which was passed by the House of Representatives late Wednesday night, Golding also urged the administration to provide an additional monthly allocation per constituency to the Constituency Development Fund. This, he said, would enable care packages to be provided to the elderly, lactating mothers, and unemployed parents of young children on an ongoing basis during the economic crisis.

He again pressed for a rollback of the fuel hedge tax, saying that the Government had retained the measure despite its failure to use those resources to purchase insurance to protect the country from a spike in fuel costs.