Extension Granted for Persons to Cash Hurricane Relief Cheques

An extension date of February 28 has been granted to persons who have not cashed relief cheques, which were issued in June 2005 for victims of Hurricanes Ivan and Charley.
“These cheques were issued from as far back as June 2005 and in the normal legal situation they would have been stale dated. In consideration of the beneficiaries, we have decided to give an extension until February 28, 2006 for the cheques to be cashed,” Berome Edwards, Director of the Financial Systems Unit at the Ministry of Finance and Planning told JIS News.
Approximately 121,772 hurricane relief cheques valued at just under $1 billion were issued and of that amount, about 80 per cent have been cashed.
Mr. Edwards is encouraging the beneficiaries to cash the cheques before February 28, as the banks would not make payments after the deadline.
“Although these cheques cannot be cashed after February 28, replacement cheques can be obtained,” he explained.
Persons wishing to obtain replacement cheques are advised to take the stale dated cheques to the Ministry of Labour and Social Security for a new list to be prepared and submitted to the Ministry of Finance and Planning for new cheques to be printed and issued.
“Replacing a cheque could take anywhere between two to three weeks upon receipt of the list from the Ministry of Labour, so to avoid all of that time, it is best to cash the cheques now,” Mr. Edwards stressed.
Persons who have not yet received hurricane relief cheques are asked to contact the Ministry of Labour and Social Security.
The Ministry of Finance and Planning is only responsible for the preparation of cheques, based on a list generated by the Ministry of Labour and Social Security, which conducts assessments and determine qualified persons.