Serious complaints against the National Insurance Scheme

Aug 20, 2016 Letters

Dear Editor,
Please allow me the opportunity to publicly pronounce on the sub-standard service offered by the National Insurance Scheme, the most dysfunctional state entity in Guyana. Over the years the NIS has been short changing or disenfranchising contributors with respect to their pension, due primarily to the Scheme’s own internal inefficiency and dereliction of responsibility. It is public knowledge that the Inspectorate Department at the head office is acutely slothful, lethargic and comatose.
The Scheme has abandoned its responsibility to monitor employers to ensure that employees’ deductions are remitted for timely updating of the employee’s records. This failure causes some employees/contributors having to shuttle between their employers and the National Insurance Scheme to verify information about remittance of deductions/contributions. Some employers/firms have “come” and “gone” without remitting their employees’ deductions/contributions because of the gross dereliction or neglect by the Scheme in monitoring the remittance process.
The inspectors have to get out of the office and get their work done if they are to truly help to carve the Scheme into a service institution. There should be closer monitoring of every inspector to gauge his/her output on a fortnightly basis. The inspector in charge must make robust efforts in manning the department and getting greater performance from his/her subordinates, especially in clearing up the backlog pending for years. Over the years, some took their grievance to the Office of the President. With just a note or telephone call, their pension claims were positively processed in quick time without any serious due diligence or verification. That demonstrated the power of the pen or voice of our once chief public servant. Today many former policemen, soldiers and public and private sector employees have problems of being granted pension by the National Insurance Scheme. Seemingly, they have no hope in the PRO and other senior personnel at the National Insurance Scheme. It may be prudent for the services of a competent lawyer to be retained to file civil action against the Scheme.
It takes years for NIS to conclude determination of appeals against pension awarded. I know several persons with their experience. Unfortunately some have died without realizing the conclusion or determination of their appeals. The records can prove me correct. Why such callousness and sloppiness?
Several contributors have been fleeced of sums of money collected by a senior security personnel to update their contribution records. What action has the NIS taken in those matters? What is the status of those people’s claims? All is not well in the NIS. It is time for a shake-up, re-organisation and refocus of mission/vision. The public relations gimmick on television. “ NIS and You” should be urgently reviewed. The program should be taken to communities countrywide as face to face outreach. The problems faced by contributors to the Scheme will be better appreciated in terms of magnitude. There is a pressing need for an urgent enquiry into the operations and performance of the NIS. It is not serving the best interest of contributors, especially the poor and powerless.
S. N. PERSAUD

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