Not Govt’s sole responsibility to financially sustain the welfare of social welfare recipients - Tabuya

Minister for Women, Children and Social Protection, Lynda Tabuya says it is not the sole responsibility of the Government to financially sustain the welfare of our social welfare recipients, it is first and foremost the responsibility of the family.

She has highlighted this in Parliament this morning where she says she is responding to the repeated criticism against the Government from the Opposition members and civil society leaders that the social welfare allowances are not enough to sustain a recipient given the cost of living.

Tabuya says the Government merely supplements this responsibility in recognition of the service of our older persons that have given to Fiji and supplementary support for our most vulnerable, which are our poor children and our disabled.

The Minister says for those who truly need more support, who are abandoned by their family, then this is done on a case-by-case basis.

She says having said that, this Government continues to prioritize support services to the most vulnerable.

Tabuya says an increase in budget, last year for our social welfare recipients had not been done for years by the previous government.

While speaking on the establishment of a Child Well-being Centre, Tabuya says subject to consultation with line ministries and Cabinet approval, this initiative will see children at risk who are facing some form of addiction or trauma, including the majority of our street kids, to be rehabilitated, trained, and integrated back into society.

She says an allocation of $250,000 has been made in this budget for the renovations of the Vunirewa Bible School in Serua, donated by the Methodist Church of Fiji for this purpose.

Tabuya further says an initial commitment from the Republic of China to fund the program component shows confidence in the Government in efforts to effectively tackle the drug and trauma issues faced by our children.

She says they hope more bilateral and donor partners will come on board in these efforts as well.

The Minister says they will be working in close partnership with employers, and vocational institutions, especially Pacific Polytech.