Fort Wellington citizens to receive NIS pension after years of waiting

As part of the Government’s promise to transform and improve services offered by public
institutions, Senior Finance Minister, Dr. Ashni Singh, delivered NIS pension booklets to
residents of Fort Wellington, West Coast Berbice on Saturday.
He said this was not just any regular event, in fact, it proved to be quite significant. Dr. Singh,
with the support of the National Insurance Scheme’s (NIS) General Manager, Holly Greaves and
other technical staffers, handed over the booklets to citizens who have been waiting for years to
receive their contributions.  The distribution exercise was held at the NIS’, Fort Wellington
office. Minister Singh in his remarks 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.
He noted that those concerns were investigated, 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 said to those gathered. He noted that notwithstanding this,
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,” Minister Singh said.
In an interview, pensioners now in receipt of their booklets expressed their contentment over
being able to collect their contributions. Janki Edwards said she had been waiting to receive her
pension since 2013. “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,” Edwards 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,” pensioner Hoosain
stressed.
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,” the young lady recollected.
The finance minister called on employers to ensure they pay their employees’ contributions to
NIS. “It is a legal obligation, not a request,” he cautioned. The finance minister also urged
employees to periodically request statements of their contributions and also verify documents to
ensure there are no missing contributions. Minister Singh reassured the residents about
government’s commitment to ensuring persons receive what they have earned.