– Attorney General vows gov’t will crack down on fraud by employers

IN an attempt to address the long-standing grievances of National Insurance Scheme (NIS) contributors who fell short of the minimum 750 contributions required for pension benefits, the Government of Guyana is injecting over $10 billion into one-off pay-outs for thousands of affected senior citizens.
Attorney General (AG) and Minister of Legal Affairs, Anil Nandlall, SC, described the NIS debacle as one of the most difficult and painful challenges the administration has faced, with many Guyanese unable to access benefits despite years of hard work.
Nandlall described the situation as “one of the government’s greatest challenges” during a recent episode of his weekly programme, Issues in the News.

“And we have tried to explain over and over again this NIS debacle, but it has always caused friction and tension. Because it is not an easy story to tell. People are genuinely hurt—and rightfully so—when they have made their contributions and they now can’t get their reward.”
The Attorney General detailed three primary categories of cases that have led to the current situation. The first involves employees in the private sector who had NIS contributions deducted from their salaries, but the funds were never remitted to the NIS by their employers.
“There is a large category of persons who worked in the private sector, and monies were deducted from them, but were never transmitted to the NIS by the employer. And that is a tragedy,” Nandlall lamented.
He made it unequivocally clear that such fraudulent behaviour would not be tolerated. “That is why we said very clearly and firmly that once we find evidence of employers deducting monies from employees for NIS purposes and not paying it over to NIS, they will be charged and prosecuted vigorously. Because that is fraud.”

The second scenario, according to the Senior Counsel, involves cases where employees or their employers may have made payments, but the records are missing.
“Another category [involves] persons who paid, and the employer may have transmitted the record or may not have transmitted the record, but the record cannot be found,” Nandlall said. “That is a serious situation, and a lot of people are affected.”
The third category includes workers who made contributions but fell short of the required 750 contributions needed to qualify for benefits.

The government has crafted a response that, while not perfect, aims to bring some level of relief to those left without benefits after years of labour.
The move to spend over $10 billion in direct payments was first announced by President Dr. Irfaan Ali during a recent live address. Under the initiative, pensioners who made between 500 and 749 contributions to the NIS—falling short of the 750 required to qualify for a pension—will receive tiered one-off payments.

Pensioners with 500 to 549 contributions will receive $260,000; those with 550 to 599 will receive $390,000; contributors with 600 to 699 will receive $520,000; and those with 700 to 749 contributions will receive $650,000.
Nandlall said the government recognises its responsibility to mitigate the impact on elderly citizens who have been wronged through no fault of their own.

“The government is trying to ameliorate the situation. I know that this is not the solution. I know that not everyone will be pleased. I also know that this is better than nothing,” he noted.
The one-off payments are intended to provide immediate financial relief and serve as a moral recognition of the contributions these individuals made to the country’s workforce over the decades.
He noted that this is what the government can afford at this time, stating, “The President will elaborate further on these measures going forward, but this is the decision we’ve made, taking into account the current budgetary allocation, to bring relief to a large number of people…”

He cautioned that the NIS fund must be managed with great care, as it operates as a revolving fund.
The one-off payments are designated for individuals who reached the age of 60 on or before December 31, 2024, but did not meet the minimum requirement of 750 contributions to qualify for an NIS pension.
This initiative will inject over $10 billion into the hands of more than 25,000 senior citizens.

Distribution of the payments is already underway, as the NIS possesses an extensive database with many recipients’ details. Senior citizens who have not yet submitted the necessary information are encouraged to visit their nearest NIS office to facilitate processing.