Govt streamlining public assistance for people living with disabilities

The government is streamlining the system that deals with the issuance of public assistance to People Living with Disabilities (PWD) ushering in an era of change, and more efficient as well as accessible services.

Public Assistance for Persons Living with Disabilities (PWD) will soon be managed by the Ministry of Human Services and Social Security’s – Support Services for Persons with Disabilities Unit. This will reduce the hassle and burden as well as the bottlenecks faced in the system that sees the public assistance for PWD taking an extra-ordinarily long time before its issued.

Technical Officer Responsible for the Support Services for Persons with Disabilities Unit, Mahendra Budhram recently announced this groundbreaking shift in the administration of public assistance programmes emphasizing the ministry’s commitment to improving the management of this essential service.

“The unit will take over the management of the public assistance for persons living with disabilities. We are trying to give more information and have information on hand so that when persons inquire about public assistance for permanent disabilities, we can have that information to give them and they will feel much more at ease. We know that there are issues right now but when we take over that we envisage that it will slowly be reduced and eventually be eliminated,” he said.

Applications will be received by the outstations of the ministry, which will then be sent to the office that is managed by the unit which is responsible for ensuring that the form reaches the unit that issues the booklet.

Subsequently, persons living with disabilities will be informed to uplift their booklets.

This streamlined process will bring much-needed efficiency to the distribution of assistance, reducing unnecessary delays and bureaucratic hurdles that PWDs often face.

Moreover, the new Unit will take proactive steps to keep applicants informed about the status of their requests.

This transition is a welcome change for PWDs and their advocates, who have long called for improvements in the public assistance system. The move towards centralized management by the Ministry reflects a commitment to better serve the most vulnerable members of society.

Meanwhile, the ministry is poised to provide enhanced support services, information, and resources to individuals with disabilities.