The Minister for the Environment, Cozier Frederick, has revealed that $29 million was expended on the National Employment Programme (NEP) for the current fiscal year. He then went on to explain that the government employment scheme goes beyond the restrictions people place on it; he said it is a broad-spectrum initiative that ranges from landscape beautification to payable employments and private investments.
Frederick said NEP is an umbrella scheme that covers a lot of viable components that many Dominicans have been plugged into. In terms of employment, he said NEP has placed many employees in schools, constituency offices, hospitals, landscape beautification, and private institutions among others. He said that with all these placements, the partners pay the employees 50% salary and the government balances the remaining 50%.
The minister said the government spends about $5.8 million every month to get the scheme working efficiently across private and public sectors. He also noted that more than $600,000 is also spent monthly to cater to the needs of small business owners such as traders, barbers, and guest houses among others. He clarified that these are “indigenous funds…local monies.”
In the same vein, Frederick announced that more funds will be pumped into the Kalinago Development Fund (KDF) to develop several areas of the Kalinago region. He said Kalinago natives will be able to have equal funding opportunities like other Dominicans in other parts of the Island for business and regional development.
The government has invested a significant amount of money in that project. We see sectors ranging from agriculture, housing, industry, education, and the consumer services and we expect in the coming budget cycle to have an increased allocation of monies. We do have folks across the board…more than 20 [Kalinagoans] already have access to a significant amount of money to make investments.
Hon. Cozier Frederick, Minister for the Environment
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