The Finance Minister highlights the need for timely processing of claims, payment of benefits in NIS

Finance Minister Dr Ashni Singh meets NIS Board of Directors

A senior Minister in the President’s Office with responsibility for finance, Dr Ashni Singh has asked the new National Insurance Scheme (NIS) Board of Directors to ensure timely processing of claims and payment of benefits.

Further, he urged the new Board to work towards returning the entity to financial viability.

This is according to a statement from the Ministry of Finance, which stated that the minister would have attended a meeting before marrying the new Board.

“Over the last few years, we have seen the progressive decline of the Scheme. The NIS faces many challenges at the macro level and has come under serious threat. Therefore, it will take a lot of work to return the Plan to long-term financial viability, ”the Senior Minister stated.

According to the statement, the minister also emphasized the importance his Government has placed on NIS, reminding the Board that pensioners and retirees look forward to their pension in a timely manner while current contributors expect to receive their benefits payments promptly.

Minister Singh related the government’s serious concern to the number of complaints received from contributors about delays in receiving their benefits and entitlements, sometimes as a result of incomplete records of their contributions to the Scheme.

As such, it tasked the Board with addressing this problem immediately, with a view to ensuring that public satisfaction with the level of service provided by NIS is improved urgently.

Just over a week ago the Minister announced the appointment of former Chairman of the Private Sector Commission (PSC), Mr Ramesh Persaud as the new Chair of the NIS Board. Mr. Persaud is also currently the CEO (CEO) of the Private Enterprise Development Organization (IPED) and is also a member of the Board of the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GUYSUCO). Other Board members are Ms Holly Greaves (ExOfficio), Mr Faizal Jaffarally, Ms Yvonne Pearson, Mr Maurice Solomon, Mr Satanand Gopie, Ms Kathleen Jason, Mr Seepaul Narine and Ms Jillian Burton-Persaud.

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