– registration ongoing
Registration for the $100,000 cash grant will commence from today in Regions 5 and 6, while schedules for Regions 2, 3 and 10 to be published soon, the government said yesterday asking citizens not to panic as everyone will be given ample opportunity to register and collect their cheques.
Pensioners who missed last week’s distribution schedule, Minister in Office of the President with Responsibility for Finance Dr Ashni Singh said, will soon be able to collect from their Regional Democratic Councils (RDCs). People who have registration issues are asked to contact the ministry on its hotline. Those whose status of registration does not show that their cheques are ready, will receive theirs after the 2025 Budget is read, given that last year’s allocation sums have been exhausted.
“Nobody needs to panic that they will miss an opportunity to register or collect their cheques. Even in regions where we completed, we are still setting up walk-in registration centres,” Singh told Stabroek News yesterday when asked for an update
”In Georgetown we set up at Umana Yana and another at the gymnasium. They were and will open in the coming week and beyond for people who missed out,” Singh said, “And as it relates to collection, there is absolutely no need for disappointment or confusion; no need to rush down at 8 am and line up for cheques because the cheques are not going to disappear. For pensioners, we are sorting their cheques and they will be sent to the NDCs and we will publish a schedule of where they will collect. We will also publish schedules of where others can go…,” he added.
Singh is appealing to citizens to bear with the government and to not “worry or be afraid” because while the process might be taking longer than expected, they are “trying to do it quickly but as carefully, and thoroughly and transparently as possible to ensure effective distribution”.
Staff at the Ministry of Finance and those attached to the process, this newspaper was told, were working “overtime and many days without much sleep” to ensure completion of the process.
Yesterday the Ministry of Finance also published a notice which can be found on its and the Minister’s Facebook page with the list of registration sites for regions 5 and 6.
Distribution of cheques for pensioners began last Monday at the National Insurance Scheme office and up to Friday it continued to be plagued by disorganisation and delays.
Some pensioners were informed, after lining up for hours, that their cheques were not ready and might not be available until the end of January. Originally they had been assured by President Irfaan Ali that the cheques would be available before November last year. This stretched into December and while thousands of cheques have been shared to people aged 18 and over the process has been marred by problems, long lines and lengthy delays.
Seventy-year-old pensioner Roslyn Ann Jacobs, who lives on the East Bank Demerara told Stabroek News that she checked online and saw that her cheque was printed but decided to wait until Friday “when the crowds eased” to visit NIS to collect. However, after waiting from morning until afternoon, she said, she was told that her cheque was not among the set sent to NIS and she could contact the Ministry of Finance.
She said that she was perplexed because she and her friend registered at the same time and place but her friend collected hers and she did not. She called the hotline yesterday and was told that someone would get back to her in 48 hours with an update.
Hundreds of pensioners who turned up at the NIS office in Klien-Poudero-yen, West Bank Demerara, were informed that their cheques might be at the Leonora branch on the West Coast Demerara, des-pite them having registered at the Klien-Pouderoyen office. The lack of clear communication has forced some pensioners to make multiple trips between locations, further compounding their frustration.
NIS Public Relations Officer Dianne Lewis-Baxter explained to Stabroek News yesterday that the process involves collaboration between NIS staff and the Ministry of Finance team. “The Ministry of Finance is responsible for preparing the cheques, and NIS staff handles the dispatching. However, if the cheques are not ready, there’s nothing we can give to pensioners,” she noted.
Many pensioners have turned to the app provided for updates, only to encounter vague statuses such as, “Venue to be Announced,” “Submitted,” “Check Printed,” or “Check to be Prepared.” Even those relying on these updates often leave empty-handed.
“This is not the first time they’re coming. These persons came on Monday and Thursday, checked the app, and saw ‘Venue to be announced’. But we still don’t have the cheques,” one NIS staffer explained.
“This is so disorganised. We’re being sent back and forth with no proper explanation,” one pensioner complained, expressing disappointment over the lack of clarity in the process.
Efforts to resolve the delays are ongoing and the Minister of Finance yesterday stressed that no one should panic.
“Everyone would get the opportunity, everyone. They would be registered and they would get their cheques…,” the Finance Minister assured.
