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Dr. Nigel Clarke
The Ministry of Finance has disclosed that discrepancies with the Taxpayer Registration Numbers (TRN) of more than half of the applicants for the COVID-19 vaccination grant have resulted in a delay in payments.
The issue was discovered during the verification process.
Some 39,000 senior citizens have applied for the grant.
People 60 years and older, who are fully vaccinated, are eligible.
However, there have been complaints from some seniors that they received messages of ineligibility, despite submitting the required information.
Finance Minister Dr. Nigel Clarke told Radio Jamaica News that the ministry was unable to match the Taxpayer Registration Numbers of some applicants.
However, he said a solution has now been found.
"The system is being enhanced to allow for verification of the applicants' eligibility using factors in addition to TRN, and this expected to result in significantly higher numbers of applicants being eligible," he explained.
The re-verification process is expected to be completed this weekend.
Applicants will be notified by text message next week.