Under programme, qualified applicants will receive monthly stipend of $1,000, which will be paid for the next three months

St Kitts and Nevis is implementing another round of income support for residents who became redundant in March 2020 and remain unemployed because of the global COVID-19 pandemic.

Prime Minister Dr Timothy Harris, who made the announcement on the weekend, disclosed that the $15-million 2021 Income Support Programme has been budgeted and money allocated to the programme to alleviate hardships on persons who remain unemployed since the first wave of the deadly coronavirus pandemic last year.

Under the programme, qualified applicants will receive “a monthly stipend of $1,000” which will be paid for the next three months. Beneficiaries must be registered with St Christopher and Nevis Social Security Board. Being registered allows the Board to validate the applications to the programme”.

Eligibility requirements that must be met

There are other eligibility requirements that must be met such as, “persons who have already received more than $15,000 in severance payment after March 2020 would not now be eligible to access the programme,” the prime minister explained.

He added that, “persons receiving assistance under the PAP (Poverty Alleviation Programme) would only be entitled to receive an additional $500 under the Income Support Programme”.

The PAP was launched in December 2018. It provides a monthly stipend of $500 to households earning less than $3,000 per month.

The stipend from PAP and the additional $500 support from the new income support programme would bring the total assistance up to $1,000 for eligible persons. Persons who already receive a government stipend of $1,000 would not qualify for the new programme.

Other measures announced include a three-month deferral on residential electricity bills, a six-month stipend to assist households with differently abled children, increased support for victims of domestic abuse, and waiving commercial rent for six months for small businesses that lease space through the Ministry of Tourism and Transport.

Additionally, the VAT rate will be reduced to five per cent for three months on commercial rent for small businesses and a reduction of the travel tax for six months to boost visitor arrivals.