Rollout of Financial Assistance Perfect Mother’s Day Gift

Aseries of Government initiatives to help those adversely affected by the impact of COVID-19 should be looked at in its proper perspective.

The latest rollout of financial assistance to the needy is a timely and perfect Mother’s Day gift.

Some will say that the $90 cash help is not enough.

But if we ask the recipients, they are likely to express their gratitude.

They will be happy that they are receiving something and it’s better than nothing.

In this current economic climate we need to be grateful for any assistance.

With the serious decline in economic growth because of the border closure, the Government is in an unenviable position to maintain public services.

It’s not the only Government facing the same predicament.

Similar debate is going on in New Zealand as it holds pre-Budget discussions.

Civil servants here should be grateful that despite the dramatic drop in Government revenue they are still in their jobs earning full pay while many of their counterparts in the private sector have lost their jobs or are working reduced hours.

One would have thought that after Members of Parliament took a pay cut, the same would have happened for at least the top tier of the civil service.

That would have helped offset the revenue deficit and made savings.

But the Government demonstrated that it is a generous employer.

One of the biggest items in its expenditure list is the civil servants’ salaries.

At the same time Government is expected to maintain its services including infrastructure development, social welfare benefits for the poor, the needy and the elderly, education subsidy and assistance for higher learning to name a few. When you do the maths they don’t seem to add up. But that’s the delicate balancing act that Government must do so that the slow recovery we are achieving is sustainable and better still accelerated.

The aim of the journey is to steady the ship and ride out the storm.

Unfortunately, we have suffered a major setback with the rise in community transmitted cases. This was one of our worst fears, but it’s here and we have to deal with it.

We are at war

The Government must not hesitate to do whatever is necessary, including new laws to compel people to do the right thing in the national interest.

We are at war with an invisible enemy and during war time the rules of engagement are more serious and stricter to protect the nation.

Certain freedoms may have to be curtailed to help defeat the enemy. This is the reality we face. It is no longer about politics. In fact, political politics are irrelevant right now.

This war is about our survival and the future sustainability of everything good we have worked so hard for.

We should see the Government reaching out to help those in need in the containment areas from Nadi, to Lautoka, Lami, Suva and Nausori with the latest cash help as part of this mission to look after every man, woman and child. This is a major logistical exercise that requires the integrity of everyone to comply with the requirements of the system in place.

The $90 is per household and only for affected families. Therefore, only one individual from each affected household should apply.

There will be random checks to ensure that the system is not abused and only one individual from a household gets the assistance.

Those who try to abuse the system must be warned that they would face legal action.

In the past some had tried to abuse similar initiatives but they were caught and prosecuted.

Other Government assistance that have been rolled out includes the following:

■ Free medical service for those who cannot access Lautoka Hospital service because the hospital is on lockdown after a patient was tested positive and later died.

■ The Fiji National Provident Fund says a total of 6632 working members have been paid $1.45 million for the COVID-19 lockdown relief, which opened last week on April 26 April, 2021.

This payment is specifically for working members who are unable to go to work due to the lockdown restrictions and are not accessing any of the active COVID-19 relief phases, as well as whose wages have been impacted either through reduced or no pay. Altogether, 10,797 members have applied for this relief – up by 8920 from the 1877 applications that had been received by April 30. FNPF acting chief executive officer, Viliame Vodonaivalu, said the Government’s top up amount was $294,042 while FNPF paid $1.16m.

He added that more than 24,900 members’ names have been submitted by employers for the lockdown whitelist.

The fund sent an SMS blast earlier this week to these members who can now apply on the myFNPF mobile app to access the $220 relief.

He urged employers to reach out to the FNPF’s team to confirm that their staff are not being paid normal wages during the lockdown period so that they are able to access their FNPF funds.

Phase 2 Round 5

FNPF also paid out 35,407 members on Wednesday for Phase 2 Round 5 Cycle 3 totalling $8.5 million, with Government topping up 30,789 members with $7.1 million.

The next payment for Phase 2 Round 5 is scheduled for May 18 .

Voluntary member’s relief

The fund has also processed 147 applications for voluntary members and has paid out more than $124,498. These members are accessing $100 - $1,100 depending on their general account balance, with no government top up.

The relief opened on Monday 26 April 2021 and only allows members to apply on the mobile app. Members must have a minimum general account balance of $135 and must be a voluntary member as at 25 April 2021, before the voluntary members relief opened.

Home Loan assistance

A total of 73 members have been assisted to date, under the COVID-19 Response (Home Loan Assistance) which commenced 1 April 2021. The assistance enables members to dip into their Preserved Account to help pay for their mortgage or monthly repayments.

FNPF has paid out $712,923 to banks/lenders for this assistance so far.

Submissions for the home loan assistance will close on Wednesday 30 June 2021.

Phase 4 Round 2 relief

As announced by the fund last week, the Phase 4 Round 2 relief rolled out on Wednesday 5 May 2021. This relief has been extended to include taxi, minibus and hire drivers as well as small business owners.

These members must have at least one contribution between 1 January 2010 and 30 September 2019 and have a minimum general account balance of $85 and eligibility for between $50 to $220. They must also apply on the mobile app.

As of today, the fund had paid out $34,890 to 262 members for this relief.

Like any other government our Government does not have unlimited funds so it has to work with the available resources.