Minister of Social Services and Urban Development, the Hon. Frankie A. Campbell, has labeled comments circulating on social media that the Government of The Bahamas will cut assistance to Bahamians receiving social assistance for ten years or more, as erroneous and absolute misinformation, intended only to create mischief.

Minister Campbell said: “The misinformation that has gone viral is definitely erroneous, and definitely not consistent with the pronouncements made by me as Minister of Social Services and Urban Development in the House of Assembly during the 2019 Budget Debate.”

Minister Campbell said the record would show announced increases in funds allocated for social assistance, including uniform and food assistance, etcetera, during his contribution to the 2019 Budget Debate.

Budgeting for increases in social assistance, Minister Campbell said, is not something one would do when considering cutting that assistance to persons.

Minister Campbell said officials at the Ministry have had discussions on how best they can empower persons receiving social assistance to a greater degree of independence, so that those persons can eventually take themselves off social assistance as a result of that empowerment and elevation.

This, Minister Campbell said, is in line with the government’s ongoing efforts to create greater job and entrepreneurial opportunities for all Bahamians to the point where those who may be receiving social assistance, will no longer need that social assistance.

Many of these opportunities to create small and medium-sized businesses, Minister Campbell said, were outlined in the House of Assembly during the contributions of Minister of Finance, the Hon. K. Peter Turnquest, who led off the 2019 Budget Debate, and Prime Minister, the Most Hon. Dr. Hubert A. Minnis during the Prime Minister’s wrap-up to the 2019 Budget Debate.

Minister Campbell said all of this is being done with the view of empowering Bahamians everywhere, to a greater degree of independence.

Further discussions, Minister Campbell said, have been held that have centred on identifying Bahamians, including those receiving social assistance, who are still at the point where their skills can be improved through the educational opportunities offered by the government at the University of The Bahamas, the Bahamas Technical and Vocational Institute (BTVI) and the National Training Agency (NTA), or any other technical assistance that will result in their becoming more marketable and sufficiently employable to the point where social assistance is no longer necessary.

These actions, Minister Campbell said, are the actions of a caring government that seeks out and establishes a myriad of opportunities that will create greater economic opportunities for its citizens, including those within its urban communities, in order for those citizens to have a greater share in the economic pie, while reducing their risks to certain vulnerabilities such as poverty.

July 21, 2019

Nassau, The Bahamas