More cash for some CARE programme beneficiaries

The SET Cash and BEST Cash grants that have been put in place by the Government to assist persons displaced by COVID-19 have been extended until August.

Finance Minister Dr Nigel Clarke said that instead of receiving three monthly grants, beneficiaries will now receive five monthly grants.

The SET Cash grant is for persons earning $1.5 million or less, whose employment was terminated after March 10 as a result of the impact of the novel coronavirus. The BEST Cash component provides temporary cash transfers to registered businesses operating within the tourism industry that are registered with the Tourism Product Development Company (TPDCo). Both represents components of the Government's $10-billion COVID Allocation of Resources for Employees (CARE) Programme.

Dr Clarke said that the decision to extend the components through, to July and August, is based on the fact that while jobs are slowly being restored, economic recovery will take some time. He said that just under 50,000 Jamaicans will benefit from this extension of the SET Cash and BEST Cash grants.