Minister of Social Development and Family Services, Senator Donna Cox, met with representatives of the Trinidad and Tobago Postal Corporation on Monday November 1, 2021 to continue discussions on building a more responsive social service delivery system.
Also in attendance were Permanent Secretary, Jacqueline Johnson, TTPost Managing Director Francis Lucien Delpesh, TTPost Security Manager Mohan Pooran, and other representatives.
The discussion was centred around strategies for collaboration, with a focus on a more integrated approach in order to meet their various mandates. Some of the matters discussed included among other things, the delivery of the Public Assistance Grant, Senior Citizens Pension, Disability Assistance Grant and Food Support cards.
The meeting also discussed the Direct Deposit Initiative. The Ministry is encouraging the use of the Direct Deposit option, where funds for Social Welfare grants will be deposited directly to the recipient’s bank account.
According to Minister Cox, “This initiative will ensure clients receive their grants quickly and safely, and it will also reduce the number of stolen cheques and possible fraud.”
The Minister also expressed concern about the issue of missing cheques and the undue hardship that this brings upon our clients who are vulnerable and in need of the support.
During the meeting, TTPost outlined the procedures that have been put in place to ensure the safe delivery of Senior Citizens Cheques, including tighter internal processes and more secure operations. TTPost also indicated that the organisation is currently investigating the encashment of dead persons cheques and is collaborating with the Ministry on putting an end to this practice.
The both parties agreed to continue their collaboration and have further meetings to deal with specific areas including the process of reporting cheques lost/stolen, security arrangements on specific routes and allocation of responsibilities when cheques are missing.
The Ministry remains committed towards improving the delivery of its social services for the vulnerable groups in society.