Ministry of Finance Virtual Media Conference - Friday May 21st 2021

Key Points from the Ministry of Finance Virtual Media Conference On The COVID-19 Pandemic and Finance Matters - Friday May 21st, 2021 The Minister of Finance, Colm Imbert, called today’s Media Conference to clear up misconceptions on the Salary Relief Grant. The Ministry of Finance administers the Salary Relief Grant (for employed persons paying NIS/taxes), while the Ministry of Social Development and Family Services administers the Income Support Grant (for persons who do not have supporting documents or pay NIS/ taxes). He clarified reports which stated that the latest round of Salary Relief Grant is expected to be oversubscribed. He said the data was misunderstood. He explained that from 7AM on Wednesday 19th May 2021 to Noon on Friday May 21st, 2021, 72,840 persons visited the Salary Relief portal ( of which 22,000 were return users. Direct traffic was 46,372. As at noon on Friday 21st May 2021, 14,331 people registered as potential applicants for the Salary Relief Grant on the portal, with 11,923 applications in progress at this time. So far, 2,850 applications were submitted. In a further breakdown, Minister Imbert said 6,538 persons in the Food and Restaurant Services sector registered for the Grant, while 4,820 in the Retail Outlet sector registered. The remaining applicants were workers at bars, nightclubs, casinos, cinemas, daycare facilities etc. Minister Imbert said the $30 million allocated for Salary/Income Relief is only part of the equation. He said the relief could stretch well beyond the next two months and will take into consideration other affected sectors since the start of the State of Emergency. Funding for Maxi Taxis/Taxis, Creatives and other sectors is being considered. Minister Imbert denied reports that the Heritage and Stabilization Fund is significantly depleted. He said the HSF is in excellent shape. The net value as at May 14th, 2021 is US$5.691 billion – more than in September 2015 (US$5.655 billion). From September 2015 to present, Government withdrew US$2.1 billion (TT$14 billion) for budgetary and pandemic support. Minister Imbert confirmed that 86,196 Salary Relief Grants were paid last year, with 7,000 applicants still to be paid. He noted that some people did not have bank accounts and debit cards had to be arranged for them, but they should be paid in the next two weeks.