Welfare allowances are always in the recipients’ bank accounts on the 5th of every month – Vuniwaqa

Minister for Women, Children and Poverty Alleviation, Mereseini Vuniwaqa has confirmed that the social welfare allowances are always in the accounts of the eligible recipients on the 5th of every month.

Vuniwaqa says this has been the date of the payment and nothing has changed. She says they do not make payments on the 31st of every month.

This is after Fiji Labour Party Leader, Mahendra Chaudhry’s claims in a statement that more than 60,000 recipients who had done their re-certification should have had the money in their bank accounts on Friday, 31st July.

Chaudhry also says he is appalled that scores of our senior citizens dependent on government’s welfare payments for survival were forced to return home without any money after waiting three days at banks.

He says all these comments from the Social Welfare Ministry about 10,000 former recipients no longer being eligible is just red herring.

Director of Social Welfare, Rupeni Fatiaki says that welfare payments of about 10,000 people who were previously receiving the allowances, has been suspended as they have not filled in their re-certification forms to show that they are still eligible for the assistance.

77,512 people were previously getting social welfare payments, and some people were waiting for the whole day outside their banks on Tuesday and Wednesday only to find out nothing was deposited in their accounts.

The Director says the number has reduced by about 10,000 people as the re-certification forms have not been submitted on time.

He says based on this, those people did not get any payments in their bank accounts on Wednesday.

The Director says those that have submitted their forms by the 10th of July have received their payments after midday Wednesday.

Those people that have not filled in their re-certification form by the 10th of July, are to return their filled forms, and if they do qualify then a payment will be made mid this month.

It has also been confirmed that some people were waiting for welfare payments in their bank accounts from Wednesday morning however the Department of Social Welfare says the funds were available for recipients after midday Wednesday.

Meanwhile, Minister Vuniwaqa says they will terminate the accounts of those people who do not fill their form by October.

Vuniwaqa says some of the recipients have not fronted up to the Ministry to come and fill their forms while some have taken their forms but have not come back to the Ministry with their forms.