Years later: Region 2 residents receive delayed NIS payments

Residents along the Essequibo Coast received first-time access to pension books and delayed National Insurance Scheme (NIS) after years of hiccups.

On Monday, Senior Minister within the Office of the President with responsibility for Finance, Dr Ashni Singh, visited the NIS office in Anna Regina, where he spearheaded the exercise. Singh told the pensioners that the delivery of the social services to them was in response to an outreach led by the Head of State in September, followed by a subsequent engagement Dr Singh had with residents late November.
The minister said that the PPP/C Administration is keen on resolving longstanding issues that have plagued the NIS. “His Excellency’s commitment is to ensure all of the institutions of the state to improve the efficiency and the effectiveness with which they operate. The NIS is one such institution and our commitment when we came into government, as it specifically relates to NIS, was to ensure we clear out the backlog- the inherited stock of matters,” Singh is quoted by DPI as saying.
Though some 60 per cent of the issues were resolved on the spot at the November meeting, Minister Singh related that a meeting of NIS’ Board of Directors on December 9, sought to address the concerns of pensions. While commending the staff for their efforts, Minister Singh urged employed persons to keep documentation of their pay-slips.
For those self-employed, the minister said contributions should be made to NIS as soon as possible, and that persons should not wait until the near retirement. Similarly, the minister added that employers should uphold their legal responsibility of making NIS contributions on behalf of their employees.