Govt pays out $11.2 million to 224,000 people under the $50 cash assistance program

The Fijian Government has paid out around $11.2 million to over 224,000 Fijians as part of its $50 cash assistance program for the informal sector.

This is in addition to the $90 cash assistance paid out earlier to 118,000 households with a total payout of $10.6 million.

However, this time, rather than restricting the assistance per household, the $50 was paid out to every qualifying Fijian 18 years and over in Viti Levu who do not receive any other form of assistance.

Acting Permanent Secretary for Economy Shiri Gounder says they received a total of 282,000 applications where around 58,000 applicants were not eligible.

He says this is because 22,671 of these applicants are receiving unemployment assistance through the joint Government and FNPF Scheme, 5,012 receive students allowance while 2,282 are receiving Social Welfare benefits.

Gounder says the remaining 28,089 applications were made up of people below the age of 18 years, people who had applied through multiple mobile phone numbers and those who provided incorrect and/or insufficient information.

Fijians are urged to use the $50 to buy groceries and other essential items at their own convenience as there are no restrictions or time limit as to when these funds can be used through their M-Paisa or MyCash money wallets.