THE Opposition UNC on Wednesday stood by its claims that Government engaged in wild spending from the Heritage and Stabilisation Fund (HSF) last year.

In response to a statement issued by Finance Minister Colm Imbert rejecting those claims, Oropouche West MP Dave Tancoo said, "He has confirmed what the UNC has said."

Tancoo, the UNC's shadow finance minister, claimed that Imbert "in his anxiety to mislead the country...seems to be unable to differentiate between his lies and the truth.

"It is no wonder that the economy of this country has contracted since he took over."

Tancoo said Imbert needs to explain why 7,000 people who qualified last year for the salary relief grant have not been able to access it.

"Why has it taken one year for him to address the severe shortcomings which prevented these thousands of persons and the 'vast majority' of small and medium sized businesses from accessing the covid support last year?"

Responding to concerns about people not being paid their SRGs at a news conference on May 21, Imbert said, "I actually got an update this morning. The total number of salary relief grants paid out by the Ministry of Finance as of May 21, today, (is) 86,196. The number of applicants still to be paid (is) 7,000."

So that of the total of approximately 93,000, h said, "We had paid out over 90 per cent of those persons who applied and were deemed/found to be eligible."

Imbert said 93 per cent of the approved applicants had been paid, based on 86,196 as a proportion of 93,000.

"So I don't think it is accurate for this story to be outside there that there are huge numbers of persons who applied for the grant and didn't get it. It's just seven per cent or less."

Imbert also said approximately $440 million in assistance would be provided during this period of restricted economic activity during the covid19 pandemic.