The Ministry of Finance yesterday rolled out its new scheme to have both the National Insurance Scheme (NIS) pension payments and Old Age pensions payable on the first working day of every month.
This new measure was mandated just last month by President Irfaan Ali as part of the government’s agenda to advance, modernise, and upgrade its delivery of services to citizens.
However, pensioners expressed their discontent with still having to stand in long lines, with added waiting time, as persons are now collecting two sets of payments with the same amount of tellers at the post offices.
A female pensioner at the Bourda Post Office, who asked not be named, stated that she had been standing in the sun yesterday for over 45 minutes with seating accommodations in place for only some elderly persons.
“The process is still just as lengthy when you reach up to the counter to collect your money, better systems need to be put in place to cater for big persons who can’t afford to be standing on their legs for too long and even if you send someone they giving you a hard time too,” she stated.
Despite having the option of being paid through MMG, persons stated that the lines at the post offices are just as long and sometimes worse.
That aside, persons at another post office complained that they were unable to receive any money since the postal facility was out of money.
June McKenzie complained that after standing for close to an hour she was told that the post office was out of money and she would have to return today. She described this as an inconvenience since she uses her crutches and suffers from arthritis in her leg which makes it difficult for her to move.
“They need to do better with this organising man… I can’t see I taking time out of my day to beg my son who works to bring me to the post office just to hear ‘we out of money’” the woman stated.
Prior to this initiative, NIS pension payments were made from the first Monday of every month.
With previously pending NIS claims complaints numbering 14,000. The government stated that over 12,000 have been addressed.
