Many people affected by flooding in Penal on November 12, are yet to receive flood relief grants from the government.
This was revealed by Penal Debe Regional Corporation (PDRC) chairman Gowtam Maharaj who told Newsday that over 100 residents visited his office last week to complain about not getting the grants almost five months after the flooding.
"It is not just a matter of receiving the grants, it's a matter of understanding people's plight because in some cases children would have been stopped from going to school, medical bills were unable to be met, therefore people's health have been in jeopardy."
Speaking after the handing-over ceremony of the Penal Transitional Centre, Minister of Social Development and Family Services Donna Cox said the cheques are being distributed.
"At this time, 146 applicants were approved so they would be getting their grant very soon. We already started distributing already for 146 persons and I think we have about...51 being assessed," Cox said.
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Maharaj was unimpressed.
"There needs to be significant improvement by the ministry. When you talk about almost five months after...people are traumatised. People have had losses and are still to get back on their feet. It's not just waiting on the grant and whenever it comes, 'yipee!' And people are happy.
"It is that you would have lost so much in terms of the passage of time since the flooding to now in order to make ends meet and to send children to school and see to medical bills and continue your livelihood. This needs to be understood.
"There needs to be a significant improvement in how grants are processed, how the assessment is done. The corporation completes its report and this was done expeditiously."
Maharaj said residents believe they were being victimised or discriminated against. He said the corporation's council stands with them.
Cox said the delay could have been caused by improperly filled-out forms, or difficulties reaching victims.
"Sometimes it's when they go to an MP and the MP calls me and when I call and find out, it's because, 'minister, we've been trying to get on to this person.'
"They (the applicants) might tell you, 'Well you could only get me on WhatsApp' or that their number changed or something else happened.
"Sometimes the officers have to go to them to find them. That causes some of the delay while another reason for these delays could be the ministry waiting on the releases (of funds from the Ministry of Finance) to come."
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Asked if she was satisfied with the process for applying, approving and disseminating the grants, Cox said: "We have been relooking at all our policies to make things easier for our clients and to also to put in more accountability measures with regard to our staff."
