Basseterre, St. Kitts, November 23, 2018 (SKNIS): Prime Minister Dr. the Honourable Timothy Harris, while appearing on WINN FM’s “Voices” radio programme on Friday, November 23, 2018, has warned that the monies to be distributed under the Government of National Unity’s Poverty Alleviation Programme should be used to enhance the quality of life for recipient households.
“We have said very clearly that this money is to help put people in a better position and we want people to be responsible. We will prefer to know that people are buying food and healthy food, and we will advise and educate people because we want them to adopt a predisposition to healthy living,” said Prime Minister Harris. “We are saying to people that we don’t want this money to go towards buying braids and all those kinds of things – important as they are – they are not critical to taking you through life.”
Prime Minister Harris explained that the monies should also go towards paying for utilities such as water and electricity, which are essential services.
Qualifying households earning less than $3,000 per month will, as of December 2018, receive a $500 monthly stipend under the Government of National Unity’s Poverty Alleviation Programme.
The Programme was implemented in three phases. It started with a data collection drive followed by an investigative and assessment stage during which the data collected was verified to determine whether individuals who applied for the assistance were genuinely eligible. The last phase -the commencement of payments to qualifying households- starts in December 2018.
