Dear Editor,
The news yesterday reported Finance Minister Ashni Singh as saying, “I am proud of the NIS but the organization is getting a bad rap because of a few bad eggs and because of a few cases that really are tainting the entire Scheme and so the NIS has an obligation to deliver service in an efficient manner. On the occasion of this 54th Anniversary, I will appeal to you once again to raise the standards of your operation and to deliver efficient service to ensure that everybody that is coming in, that the claims are vigorously dealt with,” the finance minister urged. (Despite all his wickedness, NIS was introduced by Burnham in 1969. Check one for the PNC).
Minister Singh has served long as Finance Minister with responsibility for the NIS. It is still a broken system and all the happy talk and appeals from the Minister will not fix the NIS. This Minister has given many similar speeches exhorting NIS to do better, but very little changes. You get more of the same. This Minister should know that it takes more than speeches to reform a moribund agency. It takes urgent reforms, restructuring, honesty, decency, and integrity. And these elements are largely missing at the NIS, which needs a dramatic culture change.
The news article said, “Senior Finance Minister Dr. Ashni Singh yesterday commended the Board and staff of the National Insurance Scheme (NIS) for disposing of all 14,000 inherited pending claims since the People’s Progressive Party Civic’s (PPP/C) returned to office in 2020.” Is that true? Does that include that 88-year old man waiting for 28 years for his missing contributions to be resolved? So why did the President have to issue a decree that the 10,000 cases in the backlog have to be gone by year end? Please get your ‘nancy story straight!
Minister, is it just a few bad eggs in the NIS giving the NIS a bad name or is it a broken system, not fixed during your various terms? The President had to intervene and direct the NIS to complete the 10,000 pending cases.
Yours faithfully,
Dr Jerry Jailall