The Tribune

By EARYEL BOWLEG

Tribune Staff Reporter

ebowleg@tribunemedia.net

THE government has agreed to extend unemployment benefits at least until June 31, Minister of State for Finance Kwasi Thompson said yesterday.

He made the revelation while announcing the recent signing of an agreement between University of The Bahamas and the Ministry of Finance to conduct a study, which will determine the level of growth required for the country to emerge out of and move beyond its present economic and fiscal dilemma.

Earlier this month, National Insurance Minister Brensil Rolle said the government had extended its unemployment assistance programme for those still being affected by the COVID-19 pandemic until the end of April.

When asked by a reporter about NIB yesterday, Mr Thompson indicated the new extension on employment benefits and the government’s commitment to helping those in need.

“The government has agreed to extend the unemployment benefits at least until the 31st of June and will be making some further announcements in terms of the way forward with respect to unemployment during the budget exercise, but again we must continue the efforts to assist persons who find themselves unemployed,” he explained.

“We are seeing though with opening up of hotels, with opening up of travel, with activities that are happening. We are seeing people going back to work. But the government is still committed to ensuring that we provide the necessary assistance for those persons who are unemployed.”

Tribune Business reported back in February that the “fiscal snapshot” and report for the 2020-2021 first half, which covers the six months from July 1 last year, disclosed that the Minnis administration borrowed a total $2.12bn compared with just $530.9m during the same period in the prior fiscal year.

However, the country’s economy seems to be showing signs of progress as travel increases and Director of Labour John Pinder estimating earlier this month the unemployment rate was around 20 to 23 percent. He had previously pegged this figure at an estimated 40 percent.

For his part, Mr Thompson noted there was some economic growth being experienced.

He said: “We are looking at some growth in the next fiscal year; that has been predicted. We have over the last few months seen some uptick in respect to our revenue. We have seen with the opening of the economy more people going back to work. We’ve seen hotels open back up again... However, we’re still not back to where we want to be. We’re still not where we need to be. We’re still in full recovery mode.”