GEORGE TOWN, Cayman Islands (CNS) – All disabled people, seniors, seamen and veterans, and those already receiving permanent financial assistance from the government will get a COVID-19 emergency stipend at the end of this month of $425 in addition to their usual $850 monthly payment. Premier Alden McLaughlin announced the one-off cash bonus at Tuesday’s press briefing, explaining that it was to help with emergency supplies. He said it would also go to families that are currently claiming food vouchers.
In addition to those on permanent financial assistance, there are over 300 families in need that are receiving support from the government in the form of food vouchers. But the premier said that, given the current situation, the government is estimating that this number is likely to more than double in the coming weeks, and those families will also be assisted with this additional payment.
As the measures the government has taken to protect the community from the novel coronavirus bite into the economy, many people are expected to lose their jobs, while small business owners will lose their income streams. Given the likely surge in families needing help, McLaughlin said the Needs Assessment Unit was gearing up to handle an increase in the number of applications for assistance.
He said that additional cash was being provided for the extra payments, and around $3 million had been taken from the government’s disaster fund for all of the costs the government will incur as a result of COVID-19.
More staff was being redeployed to the NAU from other parts of the civil service to help process the means-testing as quickly as possible. The application process will be done on the phone or online to avoid the need for families to go to the offices.
Meanwhile, well aware of the many economic challenges ahead, McLaughlin said that commerce minister Joey Hew is expected to attend the next press briefing to talk about how the government plans to help prop up small businesses with the help of the Cayman Islands Development Bank and other resources. But he warned that government’s efforts to assist will be limited because it can only do so much for the business community for so long.
He said there was an overwhelming amount for the government to think about when it came to the fallout from this virus, but it was systematically considering all of the issues and considering the best options.
“We are stretched as a team,” he said about Cabinet. because the government has been forced to think about every aspect of life here that is being affected. “But thankfully we had started planning quite a ways in advance about what we could see coming down the pipe… But we know we have to provide for those who can’t look after themselves.”
McLaughlin noted the priorities of keeping Caymanians fed, a roof over their heads, the utilities on and access to healthcare. But he accepted that there were many other considerations and the focus would also need to move on to how “we can keep as many businesses running as possible”, so that when this is all over, the country was not flat on its face.
Answering multiple questions at the press briefing about various scenarios and the short- and long-term implications for the economy, he urged bosses to follow the labour laws, noting that anyone sending people home on enforced sick leave or vacation was breaking the law. He said the government did not yet have evidence of any employers firing Caymanians in favour of retaining work permit holders.
Many people now want access to money in the private sector pension funds, while others want a freeze on the compulsory payments to them. The premier said that the government is talking to both employers and the pension funds, but so far no decision had been made on how to address them.
He said that claims of price gouging at the supermarkets were in fact related to global markets. Government had met with the supermarket bosses across Cayman and discussed these issues with them, as certain goods are now increasingly expensive on the international market, he said and explained that because the supermarkets are forced to pay more for the things people want, prices are going to increase.
McLaughlin said that at this point, there was nothing that was leading him to conclude the supermarkets were gouging.
Republished with permission of Cayman News Service
