A National Insurance Scheme (NIS) inspector was thrown out of the Wales sugar estate compound while attempting to uplift workers records last Thursday.
Reports are that the inspector, attached to a West Demerara office of the NIS, visited the Wales estate of the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo) to uplift information regarding work related issues, such as employee wage records and time sheets. The man obtained the information in the form of records but it was subsequently “wrestled away” from him as he attempted to leave the compound.
He was later put out of the area by security personnel.
A senior official attached to the Wales Estate, who declined to be named, refuted the incident when contacted by this newspaper yesterday, but a source at the NIS said that the inspector had already collected the information and signed a receipt to substantiate his actions when the documents were taken from him.
“At no time anyone was put out of the compound,” the official, however, maintained, adding that last week the NIS inspector turned up at the location and requested information that was on original documents held by the estate office. He said that the officer was told that he would receive the information within seven working days and the information was dispatched within four days.
“The problem here is that you have to give us notice beforehand as to when you are coming into us,” the official explained, noting that the large collection of data had to be photocopied. He said that the estate office would at no time disseminate its original documents.
When contacted yesterday, persons at the office of the General Manager as well as the public relations section of the NIS stated that the relevant officials were unavailable for comment.
The NIS source, however, said that inspectors work within the ambit of the laws, noting that the public official can visit any public office and request information relevant to his/her portfolio. He said, however, that in recent times, there has been a lack of support from the administration of the NIS of its staff. He pointed to the incident last July when several NIS employees were allegedly assaulted by businessman Omprakash ‘Buddy’ Shivraj and his employees at the businessman’s Providence, East Bank Demerara construction site, while trying to uplift records.
The businessman was subsequently charged with failing to produce wage records, but no charges were laid in relation to the alleged assault.
The source stated that the morale of the NIS inspectorate is low in light of such situations, while adding that the growing trend of insecurity would also affect the purpose of the unit. In other public agencies such as the Guyana Forestry Commission (GFC) and the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA), the source said, field officers receive the full support of their superiors.
