The government has set aside $120m for social protection initiatives in the 2021-22 National budget.

These include the Poverty Benefit Scheme, child protection allowance program, disability allowance program, social pension scheme and bus fare subsidy for the elderly and disabled to assist more than 130, 00 vulnerable Fijians.

Minister for Economy Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum says these include $55m being allocated for the Social Pension Scheme which will support 48, 094 Fijians above the age of 65 with a monthly payment of $100.

For the poverty Benefit Scheme – which is targeted income support for the poor and vulnerable, the government is allocating $36m to cover the cash transfer support ranging from $35 to $127.

Sayed-Khaiyum says the $50 food voucher for 20, 419 Fijians.

The $90 monthly disable allowance will also continue with an allocation of $10.8m assisting around 9, 400 Fijians.

He adds a further $11.3m is allocated under the Child Protection Allowance to support vulnerable children.

The bus fare support for the elderly and disabled persons will continue with a monthly top-up of $10 and a funding allocation of five million dollars.

A further one million dollars is allocated for the food voucher program for rural pregnant women.

Sayed Khaiyum says the overall funding for Social Protection initiatives has been reduced by a total of $4.2m compared to the 2020-21 financial year.

However, he says this isn’t because the government is scaling down but they are smartening up their controls, streamlines and delivery of assistance.

“We making sure assistance reaches to people who really need it, so we can weed out bad actors who try to receive payments despite graduating to a higher level of income or people who claim benefits in the name of someone who has in fact passed away. Or those who simply are receiving payments from more than one assistance scheme.”

Sayed-Khaiyum says they acknowledge the Australian government for providing budget support to selected welfare programs in the 2020-21 financial year and which will also be applied in the 2021-22 financial year.