Finance Minister launches NIS community outreaches countrywide

Finance Minister, Dr Ashni Singh announced on Thursday that he would be embarking on a series of countrywide outreaches to meet with residents on the ground and listen to their concerns in relation to any issues they may wish to address with the National Insurance Scheme (NIS).
This comes in light of Government’s expression of grave concern at the number of complaints received from contributors about delays in receiving their benefits and entitlements, most often as a result of incomplete records of their contributions to the Scheme.
In December 2020, during a presidential outreach in Region Two (Pomeroon-Supenaam), President Dr Irfaan Ali had called on the NIS to address the issues residents were having with their payments that had been remitted. At the time the Head of State heard multiple complaints about the Scheme at the Regional Democratic Council (RDC) office in Anna Regina.
He then instructed NIS Head Holly Greaves, who was among the high-level team that was at the public event, to “fix it now”.
The Head of State posited that all Guyanese should be treated fairly, and that all agencies and Government offices should be working to enhance the people’s lives and the services they provide.
Meanwhile, on Thursday, the Finance Minister said that a team from the Ministry and the NIS will also be at hand during the outreaches to provide services. The first outreach meeting is slated to be held at the Giftland Mall, Turkeyen, Greater Georgetown between 10:00h and 20:00h (10 am and 8 pm) on Saturday, July 17. The second outreach will be at the car park at Parika in Region Three (Essequibo Islands-West Demerara) on Sunday, July 18, from 10:00h to 16:00h (10 am-4 pm).
In a statement, the Minister said that the matters to be dealt with at the outreaches include compliance certificates, contribution statements, registration & replacement of NIS cards, signing and submission of life certificates, submission of claims, and benefits and pension queries.
In December 2020, just one month after the commencement of his duties, Dr Singh met with the new NIS Board. At that meeting, he outlined his expectations, charging the Board to ensure these were met.
He had noted then that, “Over the last several years, we have seen the progressive decline of the Scheme. The NIS faces a number of challenges at the macro level and has come under severe threat. It is, therefore, going to take a lot of work to return the Scheme to long-term financial viability.”
The Minister had also emphasised the level of importance the Irfaan Ali-led Government was placing on the Scheme and had reminded the Board that pensioners and retirees usually look forward to their pensions in a timely manner while current contributors expect to receive their benefits promptly.
In December 2020, a new NIS Board was appointed comprising Ramesh Persaud as Chairman and Board members Holly Greaves (Ex-Officio); Faizal Jaffarally; Yvonne Pearson; Maurice Solomon; Satanand Gopie; Kathleen Jason; Seepaul Narine and Jillian Burton-Persaud.