POVERTY ALLEVIATION PROGRAMME UPDATE JANUARY 31ST 2023

The Ministry of Social Development and Gender Affairs wishes to provide to the general public an update on the application process for the Poverty Alleviation Programme.

At the close of the application process on December 30th 2022, of the total applications received from across St. Kitts and Nevis, 9,094 applications were fully completed and accepted for further review, verification and processing. Considering the oversubscribed nature of the program, no new or incomplete applications are being considered since the close of the application period.

The next stage of the review process focused on the eligibility criteria of the household earning less than XCD$3,000 per month. A review of the completed applications revealed that 8,985 applicants were eligible based on the self – reported earnings. Further verification of employment and income status of eligible applicants continues with assistance from the Social Security Board.

The Federal Cabinet has approved the following priority households to receive payment of the Poverty Alleviation Programme:

Households headed by seniors – that is persons 62 years and older who identified themselves as the main applicant for the benefit during the registration period.

Households headed by persons with disabilities – that is persons who identified themselves as the main applicant for the benefit and indicated that they have a disability

Households with minor children – that is unemployed and employed persons who identified themselves as the main applicant and whose households contain children under the age of 18. Unemployed heads of households with minor children will be prioritized within this category.

The first payment cycle of the Poverty Alleviation Program will be made to households headed by seniors and persons with disabilities only by Monday February 06th 2023. All future payments to additional categories of beneficiaries will be made by the last working day of each month inclusive of February 2023.

The Department of Community Development and Social Services will continue to verify the application details of eligible applicants to complete the review process for payment of additional persons by February 28th 2023. Information on the status of all submitted applications will be updated via the programme application portal in the upcoming weeks.
A public address will be made by the Minister of Social Development and Gender Affairs on Sunday February 05th 2023 to provide details to the public on the plans for long term reform to the Poverty Alleviation Program as it relates to the goals, objectives and the introduction of graduation periods for all beneficiaries

The general public is reminded that each applicant signed a declaration which stated, “I hereby declare that the information given in this claim is true to the best of my knowledge and belief and that I will not receive or keep any payment in respect of any period for which I, on behalf of my household, do not meet the criteria.” As such, each beneficiary household is reminded of this declaration and asked to comply.

The Ministry of Social Development and Gender Affairs continues to operate the PAP Hotline at 765-5993 and email contact can be made at pppu@gov.kn.

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