Dear Editor,
When the President announced a $10 billion set aside to solve NIS problems we were elated that finally the Jaganite working-class PPP Government has had some compassion on poor people, and they would right the wrongs committed by the NIS that has created many victims, some of whom died without receiving any benefits. The lowest point of this Government was when they appealed the case won by a poor carpenter, Mr. Zainul, who was denied his benefits although he provided pay slip evidence that he did work and have enough contributions. After he sued the NIS/Government, he won his case but the Government side appealed. So, after 14 years of waiting, Mr. Zainul is getting larwah from the Government although he won. Luckily, his Attorney Mr. Christopher Ram, “Because He Cares,” is giving him a monthly support out of compassion so he can feed his family.
The VP’s announcement that “The Government is considering issuing a one-time payment for elderly persons who have not qualified for pension from the National Insurance Scheme (NIS), is really no news, no hope for the long-suffering victims. That’s a problem to be fixed; that can’t be the solution! Giving a one-time grant payment (as they call it) is what they are doing now. This is a great betrayal of the poor, the elderly, and those who were hoping the President would fix the problems of NIS failing the people in their most vulnerable years and time of need. (See Inews, “Govt considers one-time payment for elders not qualified for NIS pension,” Oct. 24, 2024; “Lump sum NIS payment for certain persons short of contribution requirement for pension,” Chronicle, Oct. 25, 2024).
The news reports said the VP “recalled that several elderly people have complained of being robbed of their NIS pension after employers either failed to make deductions or failed to remit those deductions…Jagdeo said some of the people who are ineligible are not at fault. “Many times their employer never deducted, or deducted and never transmitted their deduction to the NIS on their behalf and they were not aware of this until they retired and they then sought to collect their pension and were told they don’t have the contributions. It is a sad situation when you go across the country and people tell you the story about the contributions they made and how their employer rip them off.”
So if the VP and the Government agree that NIS has incomplete records for some people, what is the fair, just remedy to these people? You can understand that for people who really do not have a lot of contributions and who fall way below the threshold of 750, that a one-time payment may be reasonable. But how do you deny a pension to someone the NIS says has 740 contributions, but NIS is missing a year’s contribution for that person. The least you can do is give him 99% of his pension. The Judge essentially ruled that you can’t punish the poor people for the failures of the NIS to do its job in keeping proper records. A caring government does not victimize the worker when the NIS which has a legal responsibility to monitor employers and keep proper records, has failed in its statutory duties to produce accurate records for some folks.
The news said “Jagdeo said efforts are ongoing to look at ways to support these people in the form of a one-time payment. They will each get a lump sum payment so that hopefully it will offset the contributions they made to the country and to the NIS itself,” he explained.
My friend Suresh said, “There are not enough bad words to describe this failure of the Government to fix these lingering NIS problems where contributions are missing.” Mr. President, don’t let the cries and tears of the poor fall on your Government. Please do the right thing! Fix the NIS problems now!
Sincerely,
Dr. Jerry Jailall
Civil Society Advocate