Auditor general calls for streamlined social benefits system

After finding several discrepancies in the government’s management of its social benefits programmes, Auditor General Pamela Monroe Ellis has urged the government to implement outstanding reforms to streamline its social protection efforts.

In her audit, Monroe Ellis found that deficiencies identified decades ago, pertaining to the overlapping of social benefits programmes and below-par organisation of benefits distribution, persisted.

“I urge the relevant government agencies, particularly the ministry responsible for social security, to spearhead efforts to coordinate with stakeholders in implementing the recommendations,” the AG stated in her report, dated December 2024.

The auditor general noted that Jamaica’s Social Safety Net (SSN) reform was not implemented as planned, and, as such, the only piece of legislation that governs social assistance is the Poor Relief Act of 1886.

Under the SSN reform, the Poor Relief Act was to be repealed and responsibilities transferred to the Ministry of Labour and Social Security as the government moves to establish a unified benefits programme under the National Assistance Bill which would provide comprehensive social assistance to vulnerable groups, thereby ensuring that provisions are in law for poverty reduction and social protection focusing on the most vulnerable.

A World Bank report in 2001 recommended a loan to assist the government reform the SSN project, noting that the SSN’s cash assistance programmes had little effect on poverty. Reforming the SSN would make it into a more efficient system of social assistance for the poor and vulnerable, and provide better and more cost-effective social assistance for them, it was noted.

But a delay in repealing the Poor Relief Act prevented this development.

The many issues the auditor general found included the disbursement of $700 million by the Labour and Social Security Ministry without clear eligibility criteria, the failure of the Kingston and St Andrew Municipal Corporation (KSAMC) to explain the expenditure of $33 million spent on houses for the poor, and $81 million worth of discrepancies in municipal welfare spending.

Monroe Ellis noted that efforts to reform Jamaica’s social safety net began 25 years ago with the Social Safety Net Reform Programme designed to improve Jamaica’s social protection systems, such as welfare distribution.

The programme was subsequently integrated into Jamaica Vision 2030 and the National Development Plan (NDP) and Social Protection Strategy.

“One of the priority sector strategies under Vision 2030, National Outcome No. 3, is for Jamaica to create and sustain an effective, efficient, transparent, and objective system for delivering social assistance services and programmes,” Monroe Ellis noted.

“During our strategic audit risk assessment process, we evaluated the risks of the Government achieving this desired national outcome, recognising the importance of ensuring effective social protection. Acknowledging that any shortcomings could have a significant impact on the well-being of citizens and the country on a whole, the management of Government’s social benefit programmes was highlighted as an important area of focus.”

She said the aim was to evaluate the effectiveness of the programmes’ administration, efficiency and gaps in service delivery, to identify duplication, and highlight best practices and opportunities for improvements.

But what she found was that operational deficiencies persisted in an environment where the administration of the social benefit programmes in fact were spread across various government agencies, and lacked adequate coordination between those agencies.

This, in turn, caused inefficiencies in the delivery of service benefits to the needy.

“The audit found that efforts to reform social benefit distribution, a key part of the social protection system overhaul, have not progressed,” Monroe Ellis stated in her report.

She continued, “The effectiveness of the Government’s social benefit programmes continues to be hindered by a fragmented and inefficient administrative structure, which is largely due to challenges in implementing longstanding reform measures aimed at creating a more streamlined and effective system of social benefit distribution.

"This has resulted in an environment where operational deficiencies persist, hindering the optimal delivery of social benefits to those in need.”

- Carl Gilchrist

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