By Shaquawn Gill
In spite of the ‘social distancing’ precautions advised by the Ministry of Public Health (MoPH) in light of the deadly novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19), senior citizens yesterday gathered in clusters at post offices across the country to collect their pensions.
Senior citizens are among those identified as most vulnerable to the virus, which has claimed thousands of lives worldwide. Guyana recorded its fourth COVID-19 death last night.
As photos of the long lines of seniors were shared on social media yesterday, the authorities reminded that pensioners can uplift their monies on any day of the month and they can also authorise relatives to uplift the funds. Pensions become payable on the first day of every month.
It was further indicated that systems for electronic payments would be put in place.
When asked why she chose to visit the post office yesterday, one pensioner explained the pressure that she would be under if she doesn’t have the money to get certain things out of the way. “Time like now, with all these bills and everything I have to pay, I need my money. I can’t depend on children and grandchildren now,” she explained.
Meantime, in a statement, Public Relations Officer of the Guyana Post Office Corporation (GPOC), Thalissa McClure, applauded the “thousands of senior citizens” who avoided the post office on the first day of the issuance of pension payments. She also reminded pensioners that they can authorise family members to uplift the payments on their behalf.
McClure noted that in light of several robberies that have occurred at post offices across the country, money is no longer kept in the facilities overnight. However, she said, systems have been and will continue to be put in place to ensure that payments are made.
Electronic
Minister of Public Telecommunications Cathy Hughes, meanwhile, paid a visit to the Bourda Post Office, where she spoke to the media about how important it is to adhere to the precautionary measures advised by the MoPH. Earlier in the morning, dozens of persons had lined up close to each other.
“One of the things we did is immediately put some vehicles in place so that we can transfer pensioners who were lining up at Bourda [Post Office] to other locations,” she said. Hughes spoke about the ways in which social distancing can be encouraged. “Pensions are paid every day of the month, so we are trying to warn people [not to] come on the first or second day,” she mentioned. “And most importantly too, pensions can be uplifted from any post office. So many pensioners like to come to Bourda [Post Office] or to GPO [headquarters], but we are saying to them if you live in Campbellville, go to Campbellville Post Office,” Hughes advised.
The minister also reminded that pensioners can authorise others to uplift their monies. “…We must remember that any pensioner has the facility to authorise someone to come with their ID to the [post office], and to collect their pension for them. So let’s try to not have pensioners coming here when we have COVID-19 [in Guyana] as well,” she urged.
Additionally, Hughes said that new systems will be put in place in the near future, which will allow pensioners to be able to access their money either electronically and/or through various banking systems. “About two years ago, we started a discussion about paying pensioners online,” she recounted. “Just like how people have their salaries go straight into the bank account, we spoke about getting pensioners to start signing up to have their pensions go directly to their bank accounts,” she noted.
However, Hughes said, there has been a lot of discouraging comments coming from members of the public in relation to this action. She said that in order for the project to be implemented, Guyanese must first change their way of thinking about the use of technology.
“It was distressing to see the amount of people that were writing letters to the editor about the inconvenience that it may bring if we were to put this system in place. This is where I’m saying that we in Guyana have to start thinking differently. Citizens are now signing up for things like Mobile Money [and] GTT actually, for the safety of its staff and the public have closed their offices and have [encouraged online services], so one of the things we will have to do is to put in place [systems] for pensioners to be able to access their money through the bank,” she said, even as she observed that there was major resistance from important agencies, thus preventing the project from coming to fruition.
During a visit to the Bourda Post Office, Stabroek News observed red markings on the floor inside of the building that were put in position to encourage persons to stay, at minimum, a distance of three feet apart from each other. At around 9:30am, there were long lines of pensioners waiting outside the building. Shortly after, individuals who were forced to line the pavement outside of the post office, were separated by long white lines of chalk, in order to maintain distance between those waiting to be served their pension.
Senior citizens who were in line were quite cooperative with the measures being put in place to promote social distancing.
