The Ministry of Equity, Social Justice and Empowerment is again placing on record, its strong stance in relation to the on-time payment of hundreds of individuals employed under the Home Caregivers Program. The Home Caregivers Program represents a vital component in the range of social safety net services offered by the Government of Saint Lucia, to well-deserving Saint Lucians who are either indigent or may have lost their mobility.
Bolstered by pronouncements by Prime Minister Hon. Philip J. Pierre, that individuals on the Public Assistance Program receive payment at the same time with public officers, the Ministry of Equity, Social Justice and Empowerment is a bit perturbed by the current delay in salary payments.
Equity Minister Hon. Joachim Henry has since written to the Executive Director of the Saint Lucia Social Development Fund (SSDF), from which the Home Caregivers Program is funded, to have the situation resolved immediately. āI am personally disappointed that salary payments to persons employed with this critically important program are consistently late. I want to personally assure persons employed with the program that we are moving expeditiously towards addressing this untenable situation, once and for all,ā noted Minister Henry.
Close to 600 individuals are employed with the Home Caregivers Program. In turn, the program directly touches the lives of approximately one thousand Saint Lucians across the length and breadth of the island.