Dear Editor,
Two letters that were published in the Stabroek News on June 3: ‘Pensioners should be treated in a more dignified manner’ and June 2 ‘Pensioners wait hours for money outside Blairmont Post Office’ seem to have finally gotten the attention of the Guyana Post Office Corporation (GPOC). Unfortunately though, the response by the GPOC Public Relations Officer Telesha Whyte offering an apology and vague explanation (SN, June 4) is nothing more than an attempt to sweep this chronic problem under the rug. Reading Ms Whyte’s explanation, one would conclude that the undignified manner in which our elderly were treated at the Blairmont Post Office is an isolated case; it is not. The PRO also deliberately and cleverly avoided giving an explanation as to why “every single month at each post office in this country, from early dawn (‘foreday marnin’) one can witness long queues of senior persons/pensioners waiting in undignified fashion for their National Insurance Scheme (NIS) and old age pensions; ‘hungry belly’ in some cases” as reported in the second letter written by Rooplall Dudhnath.
During the nation-wide, fact-finding outreach by the Ministry of Education in 2014 to determine the people’s choice for the agency best suited to cash the $10,000 ‘Because We Care’ Education Grant vouchers given to each child in the public school system, the people unanimously voted against the post office, as they considered this agency grossly unsuited to efficiently handle the disbursement of these funds. The sole reason given for the disqualification of the Guyana Post Office by residents in all ten regions, was insufficient money held at post offices nationwide. The plight of the elderly was cited as the reason for this vote of no-confidence.
At the beginning of each month, our elderly can often be seen standing in long lines for exhausting hours to collect their Old Age Pension at post offices nationwide. Very often, after waiting for hours, some of the tired and frustrated senior citizens are asked to return the following day as the money has run out.
Earlier this month, I visited the Blairmont Post Office and noticed two elderly women sitting quietly on a bench near the teller. I enquired whether they were next in line to be served, and was told that they were waiting for persons to visit the post office to pay bills, so that the cashier can use this money to cash the Old Age Pension vouchers for the senior citizens.
The same conditions exist at the Fort Wellington Post Office and, I dare say, throughout the entire nation. It may be helpful for the GPOC Public Relations Officer to get out of her office, take a tour of the many post offices along the entire coastland on the 1st and 2nd day of each month and familiarize herself with the degrading conditions our elderly endure, to better prepare herself to defend the indefensible.
Let me make it emphatically clear, I am not holding the post office employees responsible for this undignified and disrespectful treatment of our senior citizens; this is an administrative failure that has been ongoing for many years but needs to end now. The current system in place at the GPOC is ineffective, and needs to be urgently upgraded to provide a more reliable, hassle-free service to our most vulnerable ‒ our elderly.
In addition, we need to restore the pride in our national institutions and make them more accessible to persons with disabilities. Wherever possible, a wheelchair ramp must be constructed in keeping with the Persons with Disabilities Act of 2010 – Section 28 (1) “The Commission shall collaborate with public or private sector agencies to ensure the attainment of a barrier-free environment that will enable persons with disabilities to have access to public buildings and establishments.”
With the exception of the main GPO building in Georgetown, post office buildings have limited public space and cannot accommodate the crowd that turns up on the first two working days of the month to collect their pensions. For those forced to wait outside, a portable tent can be mounted with a few wooden benches to provide some comfort and to protect pensioners from the rain and sun as they wait their turn outside to gain entry to the post office to cash their vouchers.
In one way or another, our senior citizens have played their part in the development of Guyana, and deserve to be treated with compassion, respect and dignity. We can do better as a nation.
Yours faithfully,
Harry Gill, MP
