From:TheBahamasWeekly.com
Access to social and economic benefits related to COVID-19 economic fall-out
By Central Communications Unit, Ministry of Finance
Mar 22, 2020 - 4:39:30 PM
The public is advised that the Ministry of Social Services, the National Insurance Board and the Small Business Development Centre are the three main agencies offering benefits or assistance to individuals and businesses affected by temporary job loss and other disruptions due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The public is asked to please refrain from visiting these offices to apply for or inquire about these services. The physical offices of the Ministry of Social Services, the National Insurance Board and the Small Business Development Centre will be closed to the public for most services, with limited access for the collection of vouchers, cheques and payments.
Staff are in place remotely and in a limited capacity in office to ensure applications are processed. However, most services will be provided online.
1. Tourism workers who have been placed on short work weeks are advised to submit email requests for social assistance to the Ministry of Social Services at
socialservicesapp@bahamas.gov.bs. Please attach the necessary job letters, job ID and other required documentation to the email.
2. Self-employed tourism workers are advised to apply to the National insurance Board for an unemployment benefit by downloading the application form online and emailing it to: customerservice@nib-bahamas.com or govuea@nib-bahamas.com. Forms will be available online on Thursday, March 26.
3. All other NIB registrants eligible for sick benefits or unemployment benefits should also download forms on the NIB website and email to customerservice@nib-bahamas.com.
4. Small Businesses who wish to access the Business Continuity Loan Program should visit the Small Business Development Centre website for more information. Application forms will be available at www.accessaccelerator.org on Wednesday, March 25.
Each agency will provide more information throughout the week. However, we want to emphasize that to keep the public safe and our staff safe please refrain from visiting these offices to apply for or inquire about benefits and assistance. Services will mostly be delivered online during the period of the COVID-19 Emergency Order.
Operations of the Ministry of Finance and its Agencies
The Ministry of Finance will be still be processing all small business duty concessions and Special Economic Recovery Zone applications during the period of the COVID-19 Emergency Order. However, our physical office will not be open to visitors.
- Please pick-up and drop off forms at the front desk, or download online and submit to mofconcessions@bahamas.go.bs.
- For general inquiries, contact the switchboard at 702-1500 or email
mofgeneral@bahamas.gov.bs
- The Public Treasury is also operating virtually. Offices will be closed; however, payments will continue to be processed as normal.
- The Department of Inland Revenue and the Customs Department will be open to the public with limited access to the physical office. As staff will be on rotation, the public can expect some delay with certain services. All available tax portals remain available online.
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