Dear Editor,
The news that the Dr. Ashni Singh, Senior Minister with responsibility for Finance in the Office of the President, and President Ali himself, have taken an active interest in the functioning of NIS to ensure that prompt and efficient service is provided in processing pension claims must be received with relief and satisfaction. The stories of NIS inefficiency are legion. Personally, I know persons who have passed away with their queries and appeals still pending. In my own case, NIS records have me as engaged in a variety of professions, though the only thing I have done since in GCE is teaching.
To sort out my claims, I had to get records from the Ministry of Education, but after nearly a month of investigations, the Ministry has informed me that it has no employment record for me, even though I provided both my letters of appointment and termination of service signed by the then secretary of the Teaching Service Commission, Mr. Benjamin Agard. But the hope now is that eligible persons will be able to get their pensions with the least hassle and that it will no longer take years before people can access their pensions. In addition to the Minis-ter’s and the Presi-dent’s intervention, both the current NIS chairman, Mr. Ramesh Persaud, and the General Manager, Ms. Holly Greaves, have contributed a great deal to make sure the system becomes more responsive to people’s needs.
Mr. Persaud has never been too busy when it comes to helping people and Ms. Greaves is of the finest examples of a dedicated and professional public servant I have had the fortune of interacting with. With them being at the helm of NIS, and with support from the Minister and President, I am sure that more and more persons will be able to secure their benefits. I also want to thank the government for its decision to offer a grant of $600,000 to persons on dialysis. Since my late friend, Mr. Rudy Rampersaud, had to have had a kidney transplant and being somewhat associated with the George Subraj kidney transplant project, I have become more aware of the extent of the problems connected to renal failure. From what we know of the current cost of dialysis, the $600,000 annual grant will be virtually a life saviour for many.
Sincerely,
Swami Aksharananda