Chartered Accountant, attorney-at-law, and advocate, Christopher Ram, is once again putting the National Insurance Scheme (NIS) in the crosshairs, highlighting its less-than-fair treatment of retired persons for many of whom, a pension from the Scheme is life line that saves them from drowning in “extreme poverty.”
In a release on Friday, Ram began by noting that in response to concerns expressed about the reliability of the records of the NIS and the mounting number of complaints against the body, the government announced several initiatives to clear the backlog while Budget Speech 2024 claimed that the government will offer eligible persons with between 700 and 749 contributions, a one-off grant.
He pointed out that the one-off grant is nothing more than the current legal framework provides, and has not addressed an arrangement he describes as “outdated, harsh and unfair.” Further, in the Budget speech, the Minister also referred to the 14,000 claims outstanding at August 2020 which had been resolved, which in the accountant’s opinion, paints a picture that is not as rosy as it seems.
As such, in defence of his criticisms of NIS, Ram cited several examples of what he considered as unfair treatment of contributors. Firstly, he recalled the November 2023 Court ruling that ordered the National Insurance Scheme pay a NIS pension to a 73-year-old former employee of Toolsie Persaud Limited Shariff Zainul, and the subsequent appealing of the decision by the Scheme. On 26 January of this year, Ram noted, the Full Court of the High Court referred the matter back to the Trial Judge. “The matter is still pending while Mr. Zainul is deprived of a modest pension for which he contributed for over decades.”
Secondly, there is Julia Clarke, aged sixty-eight, who, according to the records of the NIS, has 739 contributions – eleven short of the 750 to qualify for an NIS pension. Clarke disputes the poorly kept records of the NIS, providing evidence that her employment with one employer alone, qualifies her for a pension and not a one-off grant. Like Zainul, Clarke submitted to the NIS copies of her pay slips. “We implore the Government to immediately withdraw its appeal against the court’s decision in the Zainul matter and to review cases like Julia Clarke’s in an enlightened, humane manner.”
Thirdly, Ram mentioned an individual who worked with the Special Constabulary in the late seventies, but the Special Constabulary cannot locate records which they had once admitted to having. And to compound matters, the man cannot find one person, let alone two, who can give a sworn statement that they worked together at the Constabulary some forty years ago, leading Ram to comment that “like so many employers from the state interventionist era, the employers no longer exist.”
Finally, the attorney spoke of a case which was also brought to his attention where persons willing to sign affidavits were scared out of doing so after being cautioned about their failing memories.
“Notwithstanding the promises by the Administration, the letters in the press indicate a continuing high level of public dissatisfaction with the NIS, largely due to past inefficiencies and failures by both the NIS and employers, as its former General Manager Patrick admitted in his book ‘The NIS in Guyana – Its Conception, Development and Future.’”
Ram is adamant that those associated with the NIS and its administration must recognise that the payment of a pension is less about insurance and more about social security while the receipt of a pension is often the difference between “poverty and extreme poverty.” He argues that the “floodgate” argument used in the Zainul matter is unsupported by facts and completely ignores the real human cost to workers who have contributed for decades.
“It is incumbent on the Administration to restore public confidence in the NIS by making it more transparent, accountable and responsive to members of the public generally and to contributors and claimants in particular. The conditions for long term benefits under the Scheme have not changed since the Scheme was established in 1969.”
And as far as the advocate is concerned, insistence on strict, inflexible and outdated rules which seek to transfer the responsibility for the maintenance of records from the NIS to workers is “unlawful, unreasonable, unjust and inhumane.” He posited that after 55 years, it is more than time for the government to commission a comprehensive review with a view to modernising the Scheme, providing adequate security and fairer outcomes. In addition, the advent of oil has provided the Scheme with both a financial and actuarial windfall that allows for more generous benefits, and to address inequities.
In a bid to promote transparency, the accountant is calling on the NIS administration to “immediately” publish its Annual Reports and Financial Statements for the years 2022 and 2023 and the long overdue Actuarial Report. He noted the irony that the NIS, which holds contributors to strict standards and legal compliance, does not think that such standards apply to itself.
To help resolve the unfairness of the Scheme’s way of doing business, Ram urges the immediate implementation of a sliding scale or partial pension system for persons who have made more than 500 contributions, the equivalent of ten years.
He expressed the conviction that the NIS is one issue that can be objectively and impartially addressed outside of political affiliations or legal technicalities. “It is about our values as a society and our commitment to those who have worked hard for their entire productive lives. We cannot stand idly by while our fellow citizens, who have contributed so much, are left without support in their golden years.”
Ram has committed to making a “small token of goodwill” to Clarke and Zainul by donating to each of them on an ongoing basis, the equivalent of an NIS Old Age Pension out of his NIS and Old Age Pension, the release informed.
