issues to be resolved before year’s end, General Manager says

RELIEF has graced scores of Guyanese in New York because of the three-day outreach by the National Insurance Scheme (NIS) to resolve any outstanding issues.
This outreach was done in fulfilment of a recent commitment made by President Dr. Irfaan Ali. It was hosted in New York, United States of America, from November 4 to 6, 2023.
“I’m happy that Minister Ashni Singh [decided] to do an outreach here in Queens [New York],” said one of the beneficiaries.

Further, Bernadette Smart-Davis lauded the approach, and was elated that help was being provided.
Meanwhile, another beneficiary expressed relief about the approach, and said that the outreach was evidence of how much the president cares for Guyanese, no matter where they are.
The three-day outreach to the US was led by the General Manager of the NIS Holly Greaves. She said that the objective of the outreach was to listen to persons and get an understanding of the issues that are affecting Guyanese in the Diaspora.

These issues will be resolved before December 31, 2023, according to her.
The outreach formed part of the government’s proactive efforts to resolve pending cases within the NIS, and provided an opportunity for Guyanese in the Diaspora to interact directly with the Scheme to have their issues addressed, and questions answered.
Only recently, President Ali announced the establishment of a specialised secretariat, and a projectised format within the NIS to expedite the resolution process of pending claims.
“I wanted to address this issue; this is an issue that we want to fix, and we want to make every effort, in a specialised, projectised manner to get this fixed before the end of the year,” the Head of State emphasised.

Senior Finance Minister Dr. Ashni Singh, while delivering remarks recently at the Scheme’s 54th Anniversary ceremony, appealed to the staff to raise the standards of their operation, and to deliver efficient services to ensure that all NIS matters are dealt with in a timely and professional manner.
Dr. Singh also urged the NIS to recommit themselves to ensuring a more efficient and respected entity, going forward. The minister further said that the government is firmly committed to the Scheme, and to ensuring its viability.

A priority of the government when it assumed office in 2020 was to address the complaints received from contributors to the Scheme, with pending claims at the time amounting to 14,000, as at November 2020.

In support of this effort, the government, at Cabinet level, undertook a series of nationwide outreach sessions that took the services of the NIS to the citizens, with 12 sessions held in Regions Two (Pomeroon-Supenaam), Three (Essequibo Islands-West Demerara), Four (Demerara-Mahaica), Five (Mahaica-Berbice), Six (East Berbice-Corentyne) and 10 (Upper Demerara-Berbice).

Over 1,300 persons across the country have benefitted from these sessions, and many of them are in receipt of Old Age Pension after waiting for a number of years. Additionally, all inherited 14,000 pending claims have been resolved.