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Old-age pension is chicken feed

Jan 19, 2025 Dem Boys Seh, Features / Columnists

Dem Boys Seh…

Kaieteur News-  Dem boys seh dem don’t understand how a trillion-dollar budget could only spare $5,000 a month increase fuh pensioners. Is like yuh cook one big pot curry and when pensioners show up, yuh giving dem a spoonful rice and one lil’ piece chicken bone. Better can be done, man.

Imagine, we in de era of oil wealth, yet pensioners barely getting enough fuh buy lil’ milk and bread. Dem seh de money deh, but it missing like good sense in some politicians’ head. How much pensioners we got? 75,000, dem seh. But hold up! That sound like a stretch. Is bare old people in Guyana? Or some slick ones living overseas sneaking into de pot?

Dem boys seh dem hear how some foreign-based folks tekkin advantage. Dem applying fuh Guyana passport, but when yuh see dem, dem jetting out wid dem foreign one. Smart move, but it means that when de authorities check dem can’t prove that de people living overseas because dem local passport records nah shw dem leff de country.

But while dem smart, it jukking poor Auntie Betty and Uncle Joe in de ribs. Dem can’t get more pension because people who ain’t qualify fuh old-age pension find a way to get on de pension roll.

One man seh is time fuh de authorities clean up de pension list. Start wid all who using dual passports like is two-sided tape. If yuh ain’t living here, yuh shouldn’t be collecting pension here. Simple as that. Do a house-to-house verification of a small, random sample of 1000 old-age pensioners

Dem boys seh if we tighten up de system, some ah dem who milking de cow from abroad gon get cut off. And guess wah? De remaining pensioners could get more money. Maybe dem could even move from drinking sugar water to buying lil’ juice box.

Oil money supposed to lift up everybody, not just de big ones who riding around in SUVs wid flashing lights. If we can’t take care ah we elderly, what kind ah society we building? De same people who help build de country struggling to afford lil’ dignity in dem golden years.

A pension of $41,000 might look like a lot but right now dem prices in the market is oil economy prices. A box food wah used to cost $700 is now $1500. The pensioners cannot afford dat, and some of dem living with family who does dem hand over dem pension fuh help pay de household expenses.

Dem boys seh it simple: cut out de cheaters, clean up de list, and treat pensioners like de national treasures dem be. Anything less is a disgrace.

(Old-age pension is chicken feed)

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