(Trinidad Express) As of yesterday, 38,000 people had applied for the Salary Relief Grant provided by the Government to ease the hardship suddenly inflicted on them by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Finance Minister Colm Imbert disclosed the figure yesterday at the post-Cabinet media conference at the Diplomatic Centre, St Ann’s.
The Minister said an initial estimate of 80,000 people facing job losses was projected when the first set of Public Health regulations were announced on March 19.
The first case of Covid-19 was recorded on March 12.
The minister said the numbers may climb higher, and while there is $400 million to provide relief for some 90,000 people, if more money is needed, he will take it to the Prime Minister and the Cabinet.
The Salary Relief Grant provides $1,500 monthly for the period April, May and June for people who lost their jobs or suffered decreased wages as a result of the Public Health regulations.
Imbert said as of yesterday morning, there were some 38,000 applications for the Salary Relief Grant.
Imbert said the project administration unit that is handling the receipt and the evaluation of applications for the grant reported that as of Wednesday morning, they received 4,161 hand-delivered applications for the grant, which would have been placed at the 15 drop boxes at TTPost (Trinidad and Tobago Postal Corporation) locations in the country.
The bulk of the grant applications came from online, with 34,000 recorded as of yesterday.
“So we have at this time in the vicinity of 38,000 applications that are currently being evaluated,” Imbert said, noting the ratio of online applications to physical, hand-delivered applications is 94 to six per cent.
Evolving situation
In response to questions, Imbert said the estimated 80,000 figure of people who may be eligible for the grant was based on the data from the Central Statistical Office, from business organisations and the Trade Ministry which were asked to do some research.
He said the 80,000 assumes there are 60,000 working in the hospitality, tourism and entertainment sector, and another 20,000 of indirect workers in that sector.
“As we go along, this is an evolving situation and decisions are not cast in stone. As we see the applications come in, I may have to go to Cabinet or consult with the Prime Minister, if it is not necessary to do it at the level of the Cabinet, and see how many we can accommodate,” he said.
He said Government has set aside $400 million which can assist about 90,000 people.
“We may in fact be dealing with more, but as the numbers come in, we will deal with them. We’re going to deal with every application in terms of the criteria we have set out, that you must have lost your job because of the health and safety measures that have been taken by the Government,” he said.
He said the grant is for three months at this point in time based on advice and expert information.
The minister said income support grants are already out to deal with people outside the NIS (Insurance Scheme) net.
He said it is estimated within approximately two weeks, the first set of salary relief grants can be issued.
Loans: US$350 million
Questioned about monies to provide relief, Imbert said several loans from the Andean Development Bank of Latin America (known by its acronym CAF) have been approved to the tune of US$350 million and loans have been taken locally.
He said T&T has approval from the Board of Governors for a loan of US$200 million for air and sea transportation infrastructure and air and sea transport generally.
He said approval was also received for US$50 million in emergency funding to deal with the Covid-19 problem for T&T.
“We also got Cabinet approval today for another part of the global economic relief plan from the Andean Development Bank for a further US$100 million from CAF,” he said.
He said these are “fast-disbursing” loans which are available quickly, in a matter of one or two weeks.
“So we draw down on the funds as and when we require them,” he said.
Imbert said the US$350 million is available from CAF as soon as we ask for it because all of the documentation is completed.
“With respect to other local borrowings, we have been in the local market now for the last several months and we are borrowing locally,” he said.
Tenders for masks
Imbert noted the National Insurance Property Development Company (Nipdec) placed an advertisement for individuals, sole traders and firms or companies to submit offers for the local manufacture of cloth face masks.
He said these masks have to be made in accordance with the guidelines on the Centre for Disease Control’s (CDC) website.
Imbert said when people drop off the tenders at TTPost locations and Nipdec’s offices, they have to submit a sample.
He said the Bureau of Standards and the University of Trinidad and Tobago (UTT) Department of Fashion will look at it for quality.
He said so far, 20 entities in Tobago have already picked up the forms, 30 or 40 in Trinidad while significantly more persons would have downloaded the application and tender documents online.