The Tribune

By AVA TURNQUEST

Tribune Chief Reporter

aturnquest@tribunemedia.net

THE pilot RISE programme reportedly suffered "irreparable defects" and self-destructed, according to a press statement issued by the Ministry of Social Services.

The ministry's RISE public relations campaign and the Conditional Cash Transfer project were launched in June 2015 by the Christie administration, and facilitated by a five-year loan contract with the Inter-American Development Bank.

In Tuesday's statement, the ministry noted the bank's recommendation to end the programme at its "fixed date of expiration, August 2017."

"Unfortunately, the project failed to reach its objectives during its pilot stage," the ministry noted.

"To the misfortune of many, the programme appears to have self-destructed and suffered irreparable defects as a result of poor management, low performance outputs and failure to meet deliverables in the timeline set by the IDB which in its professional wisdom recommended the closure of the project at its fixed date of expiration, August 2017, having concluded by letter dated the 27th July 2017, that 'the programme experienced execution challenges, and achieved limited results.'"

Unfortunate

The statement continued: "The management and staff of Social Services and Urban Development works tirelessly to serve the people of the Bahamas, it is unfortunate that some would attempt to diminish the good name of the ministry."

Dialogue for the creation of the project started in 2004 after an Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) study revealed that social assistance programmes in the country operated with little social safety nets to prevent abuse and misappropriation.

An agreement was reached between the government and the IDB in August 2012 resulting in the implementation of a $7.5m social safety-net reform project or the Renewing, Inspiring, Sustaining, Empowering (RISE) initiative.

As a part of the RISE initiative, families with children attending primary school must make certain that the child attends at least 90 per cent of prescribed school days and keeps up a 2.0 grade point average (GPA).

Families with children in secondary high school must meet these same conditions and ensure their child graduates.

If these conditions are not met, the child has to take part in one of a number of remedial courses in order for the grant to be maintained.

At its 2015 launch, officials from the Department of Social Services indicated that more than 1,000 beneficiaries had registered at the department's Wulff Road centre.

The RISE programme followed the introduction of the pre-paid debit card in conjunction with Bank of The Bahamas (BOB) in November 2014.

In August, Press Secretary Anthony Newbold told The Tribune the RISE programme reportedly suffered "substantial challenges" and was under review to determine whether the pilot project will be adopted.

Mr Newbold, in a statement at the time, noted successful elements such as the production of a data management system to document and monitor client benefits, and the integration of a pre-paid automated card system.

Assistance

On Tuesday, the ministry advised of the continuation of all "substantive programmes approved under the ministry." Those were said to include: uniform assistance, after-school care, and the monthly food assistance provided through the Bank of Bahamas (BOB) VISA cards.

The statement foreshadowed the introduction of suggestion kiosks, which will allow the public to provide feedback; and the segmented launch of "select automated services."