Some persons trying to game the system by staying in shelters – PM

Prime Minister Dr Ralph Gonsalves has indicated that some of the persons now housed at shelters, are not there because they are homeless.

“Some people go and come. One or two people feel that they can game the system,” Gonsalves said in response to a question at a news conference on Thursday, April 28.

Earlier this week, evacuees at some emergency shelters were heard on another media outlet saying that they had been given three days to vacate the shelters and they had nowhere to go.

The evacuees have been in shelters since the explosive eruption of La Soufriere one year ago.

The prime minister also stated that there are persons who are still in shelters, but who have accommodation elsewhere.

According to Gonsalves, some persons think that if they remain at the shelters “they would be in the first queue for a house.”

Since the eruptions, government has constructed houses at Orange Hill, which are yet to be handed over to affected persons.

As for the reports of persons being asked to leave shelters, Gonsalves said “there might have been miscommunication.”

He suggested that this information may have been communicated to an individual who is known to have alternative accommodation.

The prime minister said that there are some individuals who “use the shelters.”

He said, they do this because the shelters provide “reasonable accommodation and meals.”

Gonsalves added that he will not lose any sleep “over a poor person trying to game the system.”

Some of the persons who were reportedly asked to leave the shelters said their homes had been damaged by the eruptions and had not been repaired.