Tabuya to review programs
A NUMBER of programs by the Ministry of Women, Children and Poverty Alleviation will be reviewed by the newly-appointed Minister Lynda Tabuya and her team.
Ms Tabuya confirmed the ministry was halfway through the yearly budget, and that it would review programs that were in place from the previous government.
“We have our own policies and promises that we had stated to our people, including reviewing the current allowances for social welfare, and to see that it, you know, meets the needs of our people today, as far as cost of living is concerned,” she said.
Ms Tabuya also said the review of the social welfare allowance was a priority of her ministry which she wanted to complete within her first 100 days.
When queried about the state of elderly homes around the country, she said that it was also a priority area for the ministry.
“We understand that there has been not enough budgeting in terms of what is provided to do these homes. And it’s certainly something that we do prioritise.”
Assistant Minister Sashi Kiran said there were ongoing discussions on the limitations the ministry faced in terms of budget allocations.
Ms Kiran said while it was their first morning in the ministry, there were several issues regarding aged-care facilities and children’s homes that they were briefed on.
“We know homes get something like dollar per day per person, whether it’s a child or an aged care. We need to review that to make sure people in our homes, whether they are children or older people get nutritious healthy meals, proper care,” she said.
“Transportation needs to be reviewed along with the Ministry for Transportation in that regard, and also access in buildings and access around municipalities and you’re working with the Minister for Local Government, working with the construction unit in the Ministry of Finance and Trade.
“So there’s a lot of work to be done certainly. And there’s always room for improvement and we are committed to that as a ministry.”