THE National Insurance Scheme (NIS) continues to make great steps towards resolving several of its age-old issues countrywide, with the latest of such being the second phase of outreaches in Region Six (East Berbice–Corentyne).

Senior Minister in the Office of the President with Responsibility for Finance, Dr. Ashni Singh led a team to the ancient county last weekend, and a number of issues were resolved on spot.

“Our objective is to address all of the frustration that anybody might have. This is, of course, part of our broader effort as a government, to try to improve the quality of service we provide to people,” Dr. Singh said.

The consultations were held in the towns of New Amsterdam and Corriverton on Saturday and Sunday respectively.

Minister Singh said the group which he led was attentive to residents, which resulted in hundreds of problems being fixed, even before the weekend concluded.

The minister said while the exercise was extremely productive and most persons were assisted, there still remains other issues which need to be assessed at the head office.

“It’s not going to happen overnight, but our government… our president is very serious for us to clear the backlog of problems that we inherited when we came into office, and address the institutional weaknesses that need to be addressed to ensure that going forward, these problems become fewer,” Dr. Singh related.

He pointed out matters where persons did not meet the contribution mark but are qualified for a grant, while in other instances, there are persons who toiled for years, but their employers did not contribute to the scheme on their behalf.

Meanwhile, Deonarine Roopan was among the scores who sought assistance during the outreach.

He was thankful for the opportunity to meet with the minister.

“He [Minister Singh] said I am entitled to a grant. He made [a]wonderful arrangement for me to have it in a few days. I was not fully aware of the laws but now I understand and I know what my position is,” an elated Roopan said.

A number of similar exercises were conducted in Regions Two, Three, Four, Five, Six and 10. The two latest NIS consultations in Region Six have now brought the total there to five.

The finance minister remains adamant that these regional engagements will strengthen systems at NIS. (DPI)