People need help to pay bills
Fourth District Representative Luce Hodge Smith has shared that financial need is the greatest challenge she has identified among her constituents who seek her help.
In a recent interview with 284 Media, Hodge-Smith was asked to state the main problem that she sees within her district. In response, the Junior Minister of Culture said most people seek monetary help to cover expenses in their personal lives, adding that people are in dire need especially since district representatives no longer have discretionary funds to help residents.
“They need help with some bills. They need help with personal things. They don’t ask for much but I reach out to help as much as I possibly can and stare them in the right direction,” Hodge Smith explained.
She added that she has also been seeing a lot of young men who need help to access government initiatives such as the RATED programme. And the first-time elected leader said she is working to set up an office in her district where she can better assist persons who are in need of assistance.
She also said she expects financial need to be the number-one issue that her office will be seeing.
“Finances will definitely be at the top because, as you know, in the past, the district representatives had discretionary funds but that’s no longer, so we have to find innovative ways to help people because there are people in desperate need of assistance,” Hodge-Smith said.
Discretionary funds were given to each representative and could be easily accessed without going through the formal processes within the government.
However, the Commission of Inquiry (COI) put a stop to the allocation of these funds, making it more difficult for leaders to help constituents and forcing them to account for every dollar taken from the government’s coffers.
When the funds were first taken away, Third District Representative Julian Fraser said many residents would eventually feel the negative effects as the discretionary funds are used to help a lot of people. Since then, residents and elected leaders have been crying for the return of these funds.
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Can you please assist the individuals through social development? Once the need is that dire, those individuals will definitely qualify to get the help that they need. Don’t just stay there complaining. Use the process to make it work and help tweak where necessary. You sound weak….like you are still in culture geezzzzz.
That’s what you get when you vote for someone with no individual agenda just towing the VIP line. She promised nothing so that’s what you get, Nothing
Cross the damxxn floor let Ronnie become the get things done action Premier you become a true minister of Culture and tourism. I am telling you if Ronnie was Premier we would have gotten the minimum wage done faster and we would have gotten an increase in the payroll tax exemption amount. The people need help. Its serious.
Ran on nothing and delivering nothing. Just as expected.
Well you all can have fish fries, garage sales etc. in your district and the funds go to those in dire need.
Jr minister for culture and tourism. The joke is on us! My God, we are so lost in the bush with this feckless leadership.
Aside from the boys on the side of the road who need a government RATED job, what about the elderly in her district. Some are unwashed, uncared for, looking hungry. Or the ones that struggle to afford the phone or water. Nobody likes the subvention going to Social Development because if they get the assistance it takes so long to get it by the time it gets to them their problems have increased. But then they’ve given this job to Social Development without creating a system to go through the requests. The same staff that was there before the COI are still there but now they’ve added an entire department to their work load without increasing the staff compliment. The requests will never not be there, but the help for those requests cannot meet them.
Social Development is a waist of tax payer time me to tell me that the governor take away the funds from the district Rep.them and how to now Social Development cannot assist the people’s as yet? I meet a single mother the other day and she told me that she is working and it really hard ,also she applied for assistance from Social development from since in June of this year unfortunately No reply
There are over 30 forms of birth control. You wanted that child you need to be responsible for the child. Why should tax payers be responsible. This breeds entitlement.
Too many beggars and gimmee entitlement but as e expectedfrom the Blacklot. Poverty and with beggar status they have claimed as their birthright to ensure second class and “less than” status anywhere them face. Imported by the thousands by the nefarious elected and pulpit scammers to a lil bitty dry rock in exchange for votes.. their garbage,dead bodies and loiterers waithg their turn for free room and Board at Hotel Balsum while the Civil servants work for low wages and live below the poverty level.
This place need sinking ’cause it stinkin’.
What are we a welfare state? WTF, how’s about how you can stimulate the economy and I don’t mean by giving money to your friends. Investment in the environment that leads to people wanting to start their own or go learn something that can help society move forward .
STOP IT! If you were educated you would be well aware that there are checks given out in the UK and the EU to persons who are in need, along with many other countries.
Only down here the UK makes it seem to be a crime & big scandal to give money to the citizens.
The struggle is real. I used to criticise the Government Members for real until I did some digging and realized that infact it is really The Social Development Dept. If you ask questions and is privy to some inside information you, too would understand. The Money within the Dept’ remains in the Budget. They rather leave it there than help the people who needs it. The only blame I would give the Elected Members is, they all know what is happening and instead of them speaking with the Heads of departments and demand that they do better or get them out, the problem will continue. It is NOT the Government Officials. It is the people in the Department. Shame on them. Check it for yourself as No one in Government will admit to it but It Is True. The Lady on Tola Radio is right. Some of them need to go home. There is a new Budget every Year. Why make the poor people suffer for their own money and leave a Budget with over 8 Hundred Dollars? Those people are wicked. Check it out for yourself.
Unemployed youth in the BVI should go to sea for a few years, travel the globe, make some money and learn how to survive while out of the BVI.
The people in control is only benefiting families and friends same shi… different day
Waste of time let the Uk run this country we are not helping our people
To me government shouldn’t be giving people money to pay bills. Government should be looking into the reasons why so many people cant afford their bills any more. I remember when you could have lived someplace decent for about $700 a month… that same apartment now costing you $1500-1800. Quality of life in BVI constantly declining and politicians don’t care because their pocket good and every minute they on a plane so all is good. Everything just constantly getting more and more expensive and average salary not moving from where it was 15-20 years ago. Tackle the root problem don’t just call for money to dish out.
People need help collecting rent. Plenty of times people skip out on rent with no means of ever receiving said yet. It’s so common for people to get two months or more behind on rent without paying then either never paging rent or leaving the island entirely.
The more you give to get votes, is the more they will beg. The real question is what are you doing since you got elected to make their livs better, other than trying to give a cheque.
Many have sacrificed for the good of the majority. Lives have been given so that WE as a people can enjoy the freedoms that never existed for our ancestors. Fact.
Now, the environment that was nurtured, encouraged and has grown into the beast we have now is uncontrollable. Instead of building on the past generations of sacrifice and hard work; generations have been conditioned- yes conditioned by a system that by and large benefits the 1 percenters!!!
Good/bad COI; it unearthed and trove of inadequacies, malfeasances and just plain ole’ corruption which is the ‘norm’ in democratic & socialist societies. What do we do now?!?!
Have we let down ourselves? Yes. Face the music and note that the fat lady has sung until she has tonsillitis. Wealth and job creation is not present and a priority for us as a society. Training and instilling values has led to this ‘hand-me-out’ culture where some; and I mean a small majority expect to do nothing and abuse the system – enabled by corrupt politicians and bureaucrats.
If we cannot self-regulate and empower our people to become more accountable and productive then truly what have we accomplished? Are we ready for independence as is being pushed down our throats for the benefit of the elites?
Jah Jah helps those that help- themselves!
No matter who managed the funds it will be abused and bias. Politicians Social Development they all have favourites and biases. The one difference is that politicians will use the funds to help only their supporters…In that way it’s good they don’t have it..
Them island man police have the most jobs . No one getting baby and want tax pay for it only have work for them bully for bi**h police them happy in our country have all kind job when them only aside for police work i c them have more then 2 jobs them can’t stay home to f**k the woman they have but out here trying to f**k them hood rat bi**h set of low life cops
Did I read correctly? She needs an office in order to help people in her district??? Did she need an office in order to spend the tax payers money and go galavanting around the world? Now, 8 months into office and she does not have a means to help her constituents? She just telling them where to go? GRRRRRRR….one does not need to he elected to tell someone where to go for help. Dead-weight!!!
Teach the people to fish! Then you won’t have this problem. Group them together forming small businesses the funds will ease the bills slowly but surely it will get paid.
Nation building requires all hands on deck ( figuratively speaking) so that everyone get a piece of the pie. The taxi men all wants to go to the cruise ship, there is a big gap in the service of local residents needing taxi to move about. In East to town is 15-20$ from west to town is 20-30$ around town is 5$ per short trip.
Garbage collection is another area, mechanic for the big water truck, no one specializes in that area. Small engine repairs and small equipment rentals. Try and group the young men and guide them into management of their small business. And stop talking about assistance.
They just want the big yearly allowance back they can use to build retaining walls and drive ways for their family and cronies. What I have seen in my district, besides a few pennies going for sports-events or similar everything went for the benefit of a few.
Help them to find jobs,It is amazing that hundreds of immigrants gather at the labour department each day to obtain work permits and Filipinos continue to arrive by the dozens . Obviously there is work somewhere.Help people to help themselves instead of advocating for hand outs
I budget my income each month in order to pay my bills.Some persons do not know how to prioritize.The same ones asking for help have the most expensive cell phones and dress in the latest fashions.
I will leave it there