Minister of Human Services and Social Security Dr Vindhya Persaud yesterday installed five Boards of Guardians in Region Six to review applications for public assistance.
The boards were installed for Upper Corentyne, East Central Corentyne, West Central Corentyne, Lower Corentyne/Canje and New Amsterdam/ Berbice River.
Gobin Sugrim will chair the Upper Corentyne board, Thakoor Persaud will chair the East Central Corentyne board, Kamal Dhanesar will chair the West Central Corentyne, Bhupal Jagroo will chair the Lower Corentyne/Canje board and Phillip Rose will chair the New Amsterdam/ Berbice River board.
Minister Persaud yesterday told those gathered for the installation ceremony, held at the region’s boardroom in Region Six, that the Boards work in conjunction with the Poor Law Commission, which ultimately puts the life and welfare of many persons in their hands “because where you sit you have to deal with public assistance and all kinds of assistance as required by many vulnerable groups across the region.”
She told those gathered that this responsibility comes with the privilege of service “and I know without a doubt that every one of you will move everything in your path to help those in dire need.”
According to the minister, the Boards of Guardians will bring together the “expertise and experience of many people”.
While welcoming them to the ministry, Minister Persaud said “and together lets utilise what we can do to make the life of those who depend on us for support easier. And that’s what we would like to do across the entire region and also the entire country.”
Regional Chairman David Armogan said that the poor attitude of those employed at the various post offices and the way in which they speak and deal with pensioners had been raised with him on numerous occasions and as a result he urged that the ministry works closely with the post office staff for improvement.
Meanwhile, the minister also noted that the ministry has launched a 914 hotline. She stated that violence is our society has to be eliminated. “These are the things that we not only have to bring awareness to and education on, but we have to change the cycle of violence, so the ministry has been engaged in an aggressive campaign of awareness bringing to the fore what is happening but that is not enough. What do we do? So we thought it best to intervene through 914 that is toll free.”
She further added that when someone calls 914, they are linked to a number of services. “If someone is actively being violated when you call, the operator takes the call and links [it] right away to the police department. In other words, we are going to contact the police on behalf of that person who is affected and then it is expected that they will respond.”
In addition, the minister said if there is need for counselling or access to services provided by the ministry, then that will done.
