PATH Benefits to Be Increased

Persons enrolled in the Programme of Advancement through Health and Education (PATH) can expect an increase in their benefits this year, details of which will be made available soon.

This was disclosed by Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Labour and Social Security, Collette Roberts Risden.

She was speaking at the Ministry’s townhall series, ‘On a PATH to Transformation with the Ministry of Labour and Social Security’, on March 13 at the Saint Gabriel’s Anglican Church Hall in May Pen, Clarendon and online.

“In a matter of months, our beneficiaries will be very happy with the increases that will come. We are working out the final numbers,” she said.

For his part, Portfolio Minister, Hon. Pearnel Charles Jr., said that in the allocation to the Ministry, “we have seen a 28.8 per cent, call it 30 per cent, increase in the allocation for PATH, moving us upwards of $10 billion for the first time”.

“This is complemented by a more than 120 per cent increase in social pension for our seniors who are over the age of 75 who might be graduating from PATH into that programme,” the Minister noted.

The Minister said the allocation represents the Government’s commitment to social mobility of vulnerable citizens.

“[There] are a number of things that we have done this year to show that we are serious about allocating and investing our time, our money and effort into ensuring that the most vulnerable in our country are given the support they need. The intention is that we will be able to increase the benefit and to ensure that it [reflects] the current needs of our beneficiaries,” he said.