NEWLY appointed Minister of Labour and Social Security Mike Henry confirmed yesterday that the ministry is reviewing the control system for applicants seeking PATH grants under the COVID-19 Allocation of Resources for Employees (CARE) Programme.

Auditor General Pamela Monroe Ellis, in her second report on the handling of the benefits offered by the Government under the CARE programme, which supports Jamaicans suffering economically from the COVID-19 pandemic, recommended that the ministry takes steps to ensure that only legitimate beneficiaries who have satisfied all the requisite criteria are paid the COVID-19 PATH grants.

The auditor general said that her department conducted a review of the payment of the COVID-19 PATH grant under the system, to determine whether only qualified and legitimate PATH beneficiaries were benefiting from the CARE programme.

“In response to our audit finding, MLSS [Ministry of Labour and Social Security] placed a hold on the payment for the 8,933 beneficiaries and conducted a review to determine the actual eligibility status of each of the additional persons,” it added.

The auditor general said that, in light of the discrepancy with the 776 individuals who were inadvertently included in the May 2020 payment list, the ministry should review its systems to ensure that the controls in place to enforce the eligibility requirements for PATH beneficiaries are operating effectively to reduce the risk of irregular or erroneous payments.