Monday Me Lédor Louis, Director General of Social Assistance Fund (CAS), with supporting figures, gave a positive assessment of the actions of the CAS in 2013. He indicated that his institution had issued regular services to over 20,000 beneficiaries spread over the whole territory. Citing the financial allocation program for the elderly and persons with disabilities, which distributed on a monthly basis, an allocation of 1,000 gourdes to almost 10,000 beneficiaries.

Adding that as a mechanism of social protection of the State, through its Programme of Social Catering, in its 23 centers, the CAS had distributed some 11,500 hot meals a day, almost 3 million in 2013.

Me Lédor Louis, is no less proud of his Allowance Program to communal shelters (23), hospices and similar establishments where a total of 2,000 people were beneficiaries. Note that this program provides financial assistance to home centers, to the Accommodation centers for the elderly and others who do not enjoy their full potential.

The Director General explained that despite the many difficulties encountered by CAS to obtain sufficient funds, it could nevertheless provide emergency assistance to 30,000 people, following the bad weather in the departments of Grand Anse, Central, Northwest and Southeast.

Recalling the diversity of the assistance of the CAS: Custom welfare, aid package and specific allocations awarded to individuals for medical expenses, he said that the medical assistance program had received more than 3,000 patients during 2012-2013.

Although the Review of Social Assistance Fund is positive, Lédor Louis pointed out that "the CAS is unable to satisfy all the requests that arrive daily from around [...] the operative framework of the CAS fails to provide adequate social support to various vulnerable groups in the country," explaining that his institution would work to the decentralization of its services, including by the increase and geographical redistribution of its interventions.

Finally, he recalled that the financial resources of the CAS now came from the 1% levy on all wages, private and public, as provided in the Act of 26 May 1971 [24 million gourdes monthly for the year 2012 - 2013]. However, he lamented that the removal of 8% of revenue from the perception of the "Land contribution of Built Properties" and 20% of patent rights paid to municipalities, also provided in this Act, have never been done so far.

HL/ S/ HaitiLibre