From:TheBahamasWeekly.com
Bahamas Government Launches its First Pre-Paid Assistance Card
By Matt Maura, BIS
Nov 26, 2014 - 3:16:56 PM
NASSAU, The Bahamas -- The
Government of The Bahamas celebrated the 50th anniversary of state-operated,
ministerial welfare services with the launch of its first-ever, state-operated
social services reloadable Pre-Paid Visa Card.
The
card will be used to provide state assistance to Bahamians qualifying for food assistance
under the Department of Social Services Food Assistance Programme. The launch
was held November 20 at Epworth Hall, Shirley Street.
Prime
Minister, the Rt. Hon. Perry Gladstone Christie attended the launch and
presented the first Pre-Paid card.
"We
are truly elated that this day has finally arrived and while we are beginning with
a Pilot at one centre [Wulff Road], I wish to advise that we have already
determined that the Fox Hill Centre will be the next to be brought online and
that the groundwork for this has commenced," Minister of Social Services
and Community Development, the Hon. Melanie Sharon Griffin said.
"Over
the years, the means by which the State has provided assistance has evolved and
now, with the launch of the reloadable Pre-Paid Visa Card, we move to further
modernize the system and join many other countries around the world in the use
of electronics for the delivery of assistance.
"This
is truly an historic event in the life of Social Services and indeed our
country. This evening we can truly say that the reform process of our Social
Safety Net Programme has begun," Mrs. Griffin added.
Mrs.
Griffin said the Government's ultimate intent is for the card to be available
to recipients throughout The Bahamas "in the shortest possible time."
"This
year commemorates the 50th anniversary of state-operated welfare services and
the Department of Social Services has grown tremendously over the years."
The advent of internal self-government in 1964 resulted in the
establishment of Ministerial Government in The Bahamas for the first time,
which led to the formation of a Ministry of Welfare and the nucleus of the
Department of Social Services. The Hon. Eugene Dupuch was the first Minister
with responsibility for welfare.
Mrs.
Griffin said the earliest legislation to be found on the subject of welfare in
The Bahamas was in the Rules of November, 1915, which gave the Relieving
Officer of the then Bahamas General Hospital the authority to issue aid to the
indigent persons who applied for it.
The
Pilot will target clients at the Wulff Road Centre before being expanded to the
Fox Hill Centre.
"I
am sure that the beneficiaries at the Wulff Road centre will welcome this new
system which will make their lives as well as the lives of the staff at the
Centre much easier," Mrs. Griffin said.
Beneficiaries
of the Food Assistance Programme will be able to use the card at any food store
where Visa Cards are accepted as part of the First Phase of the project.
Persons
qualifying for the Food Assistance Programme include those enduring genuine
economic hardships, low-income wage earners, senior citizens and persons with
disabilities on a fixed income who do not have other means of support, and the
unemployed.
"I
implore all beneficiaries to keep their cards safe and use them properly. We
are placing tremendous confidence in you as the first to receive these cards to
set a standard for the others who will follow," Minister Griffin added.
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