–strong action to be taken against persons creating duplicates

GENERAL Secretary of the People’s Progressive Party (PPP) Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo has said that the government is exploring the addition of better security features for pension books issued to senior citizens.

Dr. Jagdeo made this disclosure on Thursday at his weekly press conference, where he noted that discussions are underway to have this done, as issues concerning the theft of pension books have been engaging the attention of the relevant authorities.

He said that Senior Minister within the Office of the President with responsibility for Finance Dr. Ashni Singh has been engaged in discussions pertaining to the different methods of printing the books in the future.

“So, they have to have additional security features that would be hard to replicate; so, right now, he’s looking at this.”

He said he hopes this would not delay the printing of the books, as the relevant agencies are already aware that the pension rate will be increased from the current $36, 000 to $41,000 per month from next year.

He said that the new amount will be double what pensioners were receiving when the PPP/C entered office in August 2020.

“We know the sum of money. He [Minister Singh] has to now get these books printed in a manner that they can’t be replicated, or are hard to replicate,” he noted.

In addition to the new security features, Dr. Jagdeo said that the government will also be looking into taking stronger action against those who try to suborn the system by duplicating the books.

Dr. Jagdeo, while addressing members of the media, recalled that it had been discovered that some of the books had been duplicated by persons who might have been working in gangs.
He said this matter is serious, and the Guyana Police Force was asked to look into the matter, given that it would have resulted in large sums of money going missing.

“My big fear at the time was if they draw down the money on someone’s book, then the pensioner who goes there would not get their money,” he said, adding that the matter is still being investigated by the Force, and that he expects that they would soon charge the perpetrators and have them brought before the courts.