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Single-parent register… Lengthy delay illustrates it is nothing but propaganda – Corbin
Leader of the main opposition party, the PNCR, Robert Corbin, says that the lengthy delay in announcements by the Ministry of Human Services as it relates to the recently touted measure of assistance for single parents is nothing but propaganda.
“To date, we have heard nothing,” says Corbin, with reference to the National Single-Parent Register.
He added that during his recent protest marches, the Administration was quick to announce assistance measures, including the register.
Corbin opined that the Government did not have any well thought out programmes for assistance. He noted that if the single-parent register was comprehensive, some form of assistance measures would have been announced by now.
As of May 22, more than 31,000 single parents were catalogued on the ‘Single-Parent Register.’
This was disclosed by Minister of Human Services, Priya Manickchand, during a telephone interview with this newspaper.
According to the minister, her ministry began a verification process of all the registrants in May.
This, she says, is to ensure that there are no duplications and that nobody cheats the system, as well as to have the most persons benefit from the proposed assistance programme.
The minister also noted that the registrations were secured in each of the 10 regions, and, understandably, the largest section of registrants is from Region Four.
The minister is quoted in the media as emphasising that the specific form or method of assistance has not been arrived at yet, given that the ministry will have to analyse the data received to determine how best to assist the single parents.
“Single parents, by their very nature, are recognised by Government as a vulnerable group, and so the process will allow for information on the numbers of people we are dealing with, and the type of intervention they need,” she had said during last month’s launching.
The programme was launched by the ministry as skyrocketing food prices began to take their toll on single-parent households. The programme is generally aimed at cushioning the high cost of living.
At the launch, when she made the announcement during a press briefing at the ministry’s Water and Cornhill Streets office, Minister Manickchand was joined by six female Parliamentarians: Drs Desrey Fox and Jennifer Webster, Gail Teixeira, Jennifer Westford, Pauline Sukhai-Campbell and Indra Chandrapaul.
“The rising food prices are largely because of external factors, and it is something they have no control over, so Government has taken several measures to address the high cost of living,” Manickchand stated.
The move, described as a Cabinet initiative, is targeting women who act as sole financial anchors, as well as men who run single-parent households.
Over 200,000 forms were printed and made available at the ministry, all schools and at the National and Regional Democratic Councils.
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