Some citizens, who have been waiting for years to receive their National Insurance Scheme (NIS) pension, have finally been able to do so following the intervention of Finance Minister Dr Ashni Singh.
For as long as ten years, some citizens have been unable to collect their pension due to a number of issues including poor-record keeping at NIS.
On Saturday, the Finance Minister visited Fort Wellington, West Coast Berbice (WCB) where some of these affected pensioners received their pension books.
The distribution exercise was held at the NIS Fort Wellington Office.
In his remarks, Dr Singh recalled that in August, he and a team from NIS held an outreach at Fort Wellington to listen to the challenges citizens faced in receiving their benefits. Those concerns were investigated, the minister noted, with a significant number addressed.
“As the Minister responsible for NIS, I initiated a series of outreaches in Regions Three, Four, Five, Six and Ten. The response has been phenomenal. Over 100 citizens turn out at each outreach and in some cases 200, and what we have found is that a number of the issues that are raised are issues that can be resolved on the spot and so this was done. Some required further investigation. I am very happy that we have gotten to a point where the numbers are perhaps 80 per cent issues resolved,” Dr Singh noted.
Notwithstanding this, he recognised the challenges citizens face after contributing years of their life to the improvement of their country, only to be told that they would not be able to collect their pensions.
“There are people who have been waiting years to get their pension and that is not acceptable. While I would be eager to commend the NIS under the current board and the General Manager for resolving these issues, I would in the same breath say that they need to get to a point where these issues do not arise,” he expressed.
Speaking with the Department of Public Information (DPI), some pensioners now in receipt of their booklets expressed satisfaction.
Janki Edwards said she had been waiting since 2013 to receive her pension.
“My father told me that the Minister was coming down in August month. He told me that the Minister was going to Fort Wellington. I came in and I got through with the Minister and they told me that they are going to help me, and here I am today, so I am happy with what I have,” the pensioner said.
Mohamed Hiyube Hoosain, a former worker of the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo) said that he applied for his pension 10 years ago, but was unsuccessful in collecting the same due to poor record keeping.
“I ran all about; I ran to town, come back here, go to Brickdam, Camp Street and I could not get the pension. I had given up hope, and I was almost going to get a lawyer. But I was so excited and happy when they called me to collect. I praise the Minister; I praise the government and may God shower his blessings on all of them,” he explained.
Shareeza Hiralall, a young woman collecting on behalf of her 67-year-old father, spoke of the challenges she and her father faced in collecting his pension booklet. Even after making all of his contributions, the records at NIS did not reflect this.
“He has been here at Fort Wellington numerous times, back and forth and to no avail. I was representing him and I was getting nowhere, so I decided to take this matter to Freedom House to speak with MP Jaffarally and that is when he took the matter up to the office. We came and we spoke to the minister, he promised and I can see that a promise has been fulfilled,” she said.
Meanwhile, the Finance Minister called on employers to ensure they pay their employees’ contributions to NIS.
“It is a legal obligation, not a request,” he warned.
He also encouraged employees to periodically request statements of their contributions and also verify documents to ensure there are no missing contributions.
Dr Singh reaffirmed the government’s commitment to ensuring persons receive what they have earned.
