More assistance for Fijians is now available. The Fijian government yesterday announced these support measures to help Fijians with the swift price increases in food and other essentials due to imported inflationary pressures.

Attorney-General and Minister for Economy Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum yesterday announced the government’s support for the Inflation Mitigation Measures as announced in the 2022-2023 National Budget.

Support For Pensioners, After-Care and Social Welfare Beneficiaries

On August 31, Government pensioners and After Care beneficiaries will receive a direct additional top-up of $180 to their accounts.

Mr Sayed-Khaiyum said the payment date was being aligned to their next pension payment date.

He said similarly, all social welfare recipients would also receive a direct additional top-up of $180 to their accounts on September 5, 2022 aligned to their next welfare payment date.

“Approximately $18 million will be paid to more than 90,000 social welfare recipients and around 8,000 Government pensioners and After-care recipients.”

He added that no applications were required for these groups of individuals.

Tertiary Students Support

Mr Sayed-Khaiyum also announced support for Tertiary students assisted through the TSLS.

He said all registered tertiary students under the Tertiary Education Loans Scheme (TELS) and the Toppers Scholarship will be paid a lump sum payment of $180 on 5th September 2022 to their bank accounts.

For this payout, the Tertiary Scholarship and Loans Service (TSLS) would facilitate the payment on behalf of the Ministry of Economy. He added that more than 13,000 TELS/Toppers’ recipients would be assisted with approximately $2.4 million.

Tertiary students under the TELS/ Toppers scholarship do not need to apply. The tertiary institutions covered by TSLS include The University of the South Pacific; Fiji National University; University of Fiji; Corpus Christi Teachers College; Fulton College; Sangam Institute; Pacific Flying School; and Advanced Aviation Training.

However, those tertiary students who do not receive TELS/Toppers scholarship can now apply online through the online Inflation Mitigation Application System (https://assistance.digitalfiji.gov.fj).

“These students can only apply online and will be required to provide their personal details, mobile number, and evidence of active enrollment registration at one of the Universities to be eligible.

“Payment will be made through M-Paisa or MyCash depending on the mobile number.”

Support for Low-Income Families

Mr Sayed-Khaiyum also announced support that would be provided on a per-child basis for families who earn less than $50,000 in combined annual household income.

He said families with children in Year 13 or below who currently receive subsidised transportation assistance can fill out a simple manual form that calls for M-PAiSA/MyCASH account details to receive assistance.

“As these students already qualify for transportation assistance, there will be no need for additional income verification,” he said.

“The fastest way to submit and process your application is online through the Inflation Mitigation Application System (https://assistance.digitalfiji.gov.fj) which is now open for applications and will close on 30 September 2022.”

“Manual Forms will be available at all schools from 15 August 2022 and can be filled out and submitted to the child’s school. In the interest of timely deployment of funds, we strongly encourage families to apply online for assistance.

“$180 payments per child will be paid out to families as and when applications are received.”

He added that payments would be made on 1 September 2022 for all applications processed before that date.

“Subsequent payments for later applicants will be made on 15 September 2022, 30 September 2022, 14 October 2022, and 31 October 2022.”

Children Who Do Not Receive Transportation Assistance

Families earning below $50,000 annually whose children do not currently receive transportation assistance are also eligible for inflation mitigation assistance through the Ministry of Education.

Application forms can be obtained from (https://assistance.digitalfiji.gov.fj). 

“The manual application form will gather details of parents and obtain phone numbers for payment,” he said.

“Students will need to get the form filled in by their parents and teachers/head of schools will be responsible to upload the details of the form on FEMIS.”

“It is important that parents, teachers and the head of schools statutorily declare that they are providing the correct information.”

Children Below Year 1

Mr Sayed Khaiyum said parents of children who are below Year 1 can either apply through the online Inflation Mitigation Application System or through the MANUAL application forms available at Legal Aid offices and their nearest schools.

He said for this category of applicants, completed manual forms are to be submitted to Legal Aid Offices or their nearest school.

He added that all applications will close on 30 September 2022 and final payments will be paid out on 31 October 2022.

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