NO government can continue to make huge aid assistance payouts. Acting Prime Minister and Attorney-General Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum said this in Parliament on Wednesday as he revealed that Government has paid out about $55.3 million under its CARE for Fiji package for victims of recent weather events.
While delivering a ministerial statement on the package, he said plans were afoot to develop insurance programs to assist those affected by natural disasters in the future.
He said while it was the first time an initiative such as the CARE package had been undertaken, discussions were in progress with the World Bank and Asian Development Bank to develop insurance products for basic cover for households.
Mr Sayed-Khaiyum said Government was very close to developing a product for household insurance and Government would pay premiums for low-income families.
He added that Government was also looking at another model used in India called Parametric Crop Insurance for the agriculture sector.
He said under the scheme, no individual farm assessment was carried out. If floodwaters reached a certain height, everyone in that particular area would receive the same payout.
