Our aim to reduce welfare is to graduate social welfare recipients who are able-bodied men and women between the ages of 18 to 45 years who will be provided appropriate skills training and education and then placed in places of employment.
This was highlighted by the Minister for Women, Children and Social Protection, Lynda Tabuya, in response to criticisms from civil society and politicians about the welfare graduation program.
She says they are in the process of social protection reform and is strengthening its Welfare Graduation Program to support the social assistance beneficiaries to diversify into sustainable livelihoods and graduate from the program within an agreed timeline.
Tabuya says it is not a new concept in the social protection sector to work together with the selected recipients and relevant stakeholders in providing appropriate coaching, mentoring, and skills training towards successful work strategies.
She adds this is the welfare-to-workfare strategy that the Ministry has and is strengthening its implementation to ensure that every recipient will be assessed and ascertain that they can commit to the pathway that the ministry will create for them.
The Minister says the Ministry is setting up a Welfare Graduation Unit working with their development partners and with the technical support provided by the World Bank, it is also working closely with the Ministry of Finance, Strategic Planning, National Development and Statistics for a stronger linkage with new employment programs including Jobs for Nature and in the development of Economic Inclusion framework that consist of a strategy, program components, institutional arrangement, training and linkage to services that could provide systematic support to these recipients.
Tabuya says it will be these very same recipients who will be given an expiry date for their allowances which not only sets a timeline for them but for the ministry as well.
She also says this graduation program only applies to those on the Family Assistance Scheme, previously known as the Poverty Benefit Scheme and will be carefully assessed to ensure they can be trained and employed.
Tabuya adds the Welfare Graduation Program will be monitored, and successful implementation will be measured according to the recipient’s capacity to earn a decent income and be in a position to graduate from Government assistance.
She says the Ministry, in collaboration with the Australian Government through its flagship social protection program, the Partnerships for Social Protection Program (P4SP) continues to work on the social protection reform agenda to strengthen its program efficiency and effectiveness, in alignment with the national Social Assistance Policy, across its six major social assistance benefits.
The Minister says with the Partnerships for Social Protection Program’s expertise in social protection, gender, economics, and information systems, it has conducted extensive consultations with relevant agencies and done a technical review on all its social assistance programs last year.
Tabuya further says in phase 2 of the project, the team are working closely with the ministry professionals in implementing the approved recommendations that include capacity building, improved case management, processes and a robust information system to flag benefit timelines and to identify recipients for the Welfare Graduation program.
The Minister says as the Government takes concrete steps to move away from handing out assistance to employment building, entrepreneurial skills and capacity, NGOs and politicians should be encouraging and supporting this program that sees our able-bodied men and women graduate from welfare to workfare and well-being, to discourage the dependency syndrome and the welfare state that the previous government had perpetuated for 16 years.
Tabuya adds that it challenges all employment sectors to be a model by providing training, recruiting, hiring, and supporting welfare recipients.
She says we need to strengthen our workforce since thousands have left in the last 9 months.
The Minister says we need to put our people to work, progress together towards inclusive recovery from the pandemic and natural disasters and need to explore ways that have been proven worldwide and work hand in hand with our development partners in a holistic manner to ensure dignity and self-respect as well as productive citizens contributing to the economy.
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