Applications for government’s $50 cash assistance starts today

The application for the Ministry of Economy’s $50 cash assistance to individuals affected by COVID-19 in Viti Levu will open at 9am today.

The Ministry of Economy says those individuals whose employment income is unaffected and those that receive other forms of Government assistance are not eligible for this initiative.

These include all civil servants,all individuals in the formal sector whose employment income has not been affected and FNPF contributions, therefore, have been normal in the last 3 months, all those individuals that received unemployment assistance through the Fijian Government and FNPF under Phase 2, Phase 3 and lockdown assistance, all those on FNPF pension scheme, all students on Tertiary Education Loan Scheme and Toppers scholarship receiving normal allowances, all Social welfare recipients and all individuals below the age of 18 years.

Affected individuals, who are 18 years and over in Viti Levu, can apply by dialling *161# and provide the following information full name, birth registration number, date of birth, voter identification number, TIN Number, FNPF number and home address.

The Ministry says it is important that individuals applying for this assistance should first gather all the required information and then dial *161#.

They further say incomplete submissions or those with incorrect information will be disqualified or payments will be delayed.

The estimated processing time for applications is 5 working days from the closing date, subject to correct and complete information provided by individuals at the time of submission.

The Ministry of Economy will work in partnership with Vodafone, Digicel, Fiji Revenue and Customs Service, Fiji National Provident Fund, Tertiary Scholarship and Loans Board and Ministry of Women, Children and Poverty Alleviation to verify and process the applications.

Individuals will be provided with funds in their MPAiSA or MyCash wallets and recipients will be able to withdraw cash or purchase items from registered MPAiSA and MyCash outlets.

The application period will close at 5pm on Friday 2nd July.