Ministry Of The People Clears Backlogs And Expands Support For Vulnerable Groups
The Ministry of the People, Social Development and Family Services says it has recorded major achievements over the past year, particularly in expanding support for vulnerable groups and clearing long-standing backlogs in service delivery.
Minister Vandana Mohit said her Ministry has strengthened partnerships with non-governmental organisations, approving increased one-off grants to assist NGOs that support senior citizens, people with disabilities, and special needs communities.
“What we recognise is several of our NGOs, they are unable to get subventions. So what Cabinet would have done is we approve these one-off grants and increase some in terms of our budgetary allocation, so more NGOs can get the one-off grants by means of application.”
The Minister also highlighted progress in providing assistance to vulnerable families, noting expanded food support programmes and child-focused policy initiatives over the past year.
“One of the things that we recognise is that at the Ministry, we can expand this programme, not just from a social services centre, but somewhat on-the-ground initiative and as we know, MPs and so on, they are face-to-face with constituents. So one of the things we did is we looked at expanding the festive support.”
Another significant initiative announced was the Cabinet-approved $5 million Women’s Health Fund, aimed at addressing period poverty, with an initial focus on schools across the country.
“Well, I think the first good step we would have made as a government is to allocate $5 million for the Women’s Health Fund and Cabinet would have approved this already and the Committee is now in place. They are to meet.”
Minister Mohit also reported significant improvements in service delivery, emphasising the Ministry’s efficiency in distributing grants.
“I would say that we have had success in almost every department in terms of delivery. Disaster Relief Grants, we’ve been clearing backlogs there as well. We’ve delivered over 1,300 Disaster Relief Grants in less than a year. On Wednesday, we have another distribution. Next Tuesday, we have another distribution. We’ve distributed over 300 Home Repair Grants.”
Another major milestone, she said, was the operational launch of the National Enrichment Centre for Persons with Disabilities, along with plans for a National Sporting Academy, marking a significant step forward in inclusive social development.
