— Prime Minister encourages parents

PRIME MINISTER, Brigadier (ret’d), Mark Phillips, on Monday, encouraged parents to spend their “Because We Care” cash grants on their children’s educational needs.

The Prime Minister and three ministers journeyed to the sub-district of Matarkai, Region One, to commence the distribution process of the government’s grants to parents in the region.

While in Port Kaituma, Prime Minister Phillips told the parents that, although they might have other important items to spend the money on, they should ensure their children have the necessary tools for a better education.

“This money should not be spent on any other expenditure that you had planned; it should be spent on ensuring that your children get those extra items that you want to buy.”

Some 1,864 learners of Port Kaituma are expected to benefit from the collective sum of $35.4M.

During his one-day visit to the region, the Prime Minister distributed funds to parents of learners from the Port Kaituma Nursery, Primary and Secondary Schools, Four Miles Nursery and the Falls Top Primary School.

Prime Minister Phillips, who is the head of the National COVID-19 Task Force, also commended the residents of the Region One sub-district for their positive approach to vaccination. He said Region One has the highest rate of vaccination, with 67 per cent of the residents having already taken their first dose, while 43.1 per cent are fully vaccinated.

The ministers who visited other parts of the sub-district were the Minister of Amerindian Affairs, Pauline Sukhai; the Minister of Local Government and Regional Development, Nigel Dharamlall, and the Minister of Housing and Water, Collin Croal.