The Vanuatu Finance Ministry has received over 200 applications from employees seeking assistance from the Government’s economic stimulus package due to the novel coronavirus pandemic.
According to the ministry, most of the applications were from the tourism and services-related business sectors, which are forecast to be the worst hit sectors by the pandemic.
The ministry confirmed that payments for the COVID -19 Employment Stimulus Package (ESP) approved by the Council of Ministers (COM) early last month have commenced.
To date the government has already approved payments for 36 companies and some 883 employees, and employers should have seen their bank accounts credited either last week or by the end of this week.
The total amount of funds committed for payments to date currently stands at VT 29,668,800, which also includes Vanuatu National Provident Fund contributions as well as the operational costs payment.
Under the ESP scheme, eligible employees will receive an amount of VT 30,000 each month for the next 4 months from March – June 2020.
Eligible employers will receive an additional 12% of the total approved amount to cater for VNPF contributions and other operational costs.
The Vanuatu National Provident Fund (VNPF) has confirmed that approximately 20,000+ employees are valid private sector members who could be potentially eligible for the ESP.
The Ministry of Finance said it wishes to make it clear that there are also citizens who operate as sole trader businesses or privately owned businesses.
These businesses will fall under the small and medium enterprise category of the announced stimulus package, and will be treated separately from those that benefited from the ESP.
A separate set of policy advice will be issued for this category in the coming weeks once further directions are confirmed by the Government.
The Government has also announced other stimulus measures such as the shipping subsidy and the school fee subsidy.
Unfortunately, one of the issues that hinders the ongoing approval of submissions for payment is incomplete submissions that require further verification.
The Ministry of Finance is urging all remaining companies/employers to follow the instructions provided in the form and ensure their submissions are complete.
It said it is important to note that not every business sector will benefit from the stimulus measures.
Some business sectors could be deemed as still advantaged despite the economic down turn.
The Government said it will provide further policy announcement on this in the coming days so all sectors are made aware as to whether the will benefit from this package or not.
For any business to be qualified for the ESP, they will need to have a valid Business License for 2019 and, if possible, 2020, together with other requirements requested in the application form.
All employers and employees will also need to have an active membership with the VNPF.
Meanwhile, the COVID -19 ESP assessment team expressed its gratitude to all stakeholders, namely the Vanuatu Chamber of Commerce and industry (VCCI), the Department of Tourism, the Department of Labor and others who have provided significant support which has led to the progress made to date.
More submissions are anticipated to come in throughout the month of May, as a lot more businesses are made aware of the ESP scheme.
The MFEM will continue to issue further policy directions to ensure a fair allocation of the stimulus package that reaches the citizens most in need.
Many businesses and employees are still unaware of this stimulus package thus MFEM plans to provide more awareness in the next few days.