Verification Exercise For CARE Programme Under Way

The Government has commenced verification activities to enable citizens who have applied for assistance under two components of the $10-billion COVID Allocation of Resources for Employees (CARE) Programme to start receiving grants by April 30.

These are the Compassionate Grant and the Supporting Employees with Transfer of Cash (SET Cash) Grant, which together account for more than 90 per cent of total applications so far.

Minister of Finance and the Public Service, Dr. the Hon. Nigel Clarke, said the verification exercise includes establishing eligibility and confirmation of applicants’ bank details.

In a statement on Thursday (April 23), Dr. Clarke said that beginning Friday (April 24), individuals will be notified of the status of their applications via text message or email to the telephone number or email address provided.

“If there is an error found in your bank information or if you submitted bank information for an account with a name that differs from the name of the applicant, you will be notified by a computer-generated text or email,” he advised.

He said that payments can only be made to persons who qualify.

As it relates to the other components of the programme, Dr. Clarke said the Government will “follow up quickly” in processing applications for the General Grant, Small Business Grant, and Business Employee Support and Transfer of Cash (SET Cash) in early May.

He indicated that approximately 500,000 applications have already been received for the CARE Programme, which is intended to assist the society’s most vulnerable citizens, in light of the economic impact of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19).

The Finance Minister said that the initiative “is the largest and broadest social-intervention programme in Jamaica’s history”.

“We are committed to ensuring that all eligible applicants receive grants in a timely manner,” Dr. Clarke assured.