The main opposition People’s National Congress (PNC) yesterday hailed the National Insurance Scheme (NIS) on its 40th anniversary, but called for greater efficiency and a clear statement from Government on the Scheme’s $6 billion investment in failed insurance company Clico.The NIS celebrated its 40th anniversary on September 29. The Scheme was set up by PNC founder, the late Forbes Burnham in 1969.“Over these forty years, the NIS has been highly successful and has provided major assistance and a multiplicity of benefits for Guyanese of all races and classes,” current PNC leader Robert Corbin said at his party’s Congress Place headquarters yesterday.“These benefits include areas such as sickness benefits, employment injury benefits, maternity benefits and allowances, invalidity grants, invalidity pension, old age pension, survivors’ pension, disablement pensions, overseas medical care, survivors’ grants, funeral grants and industrial death pension.”Corbin stated that the ruling People’s Progress Party (PPP), not only criticized the Scheme as a PNC political instrument intended to penalize sugar workers, but also vigorously organized demonstrations by sugar workers against NIS.“Ironically, these workers became the largest single category of beneficiaries of the scheme,” he said.Today, the Scheme has become a major source of finance for the PPP/C administration to undertake many projects.There has been the US$4M loaned to Government to build the CARICOM Secretariat Headquarters; in excess of $250M loaned to Laparkan to facilitate, among other activities, their hire purchase programme; and the investment of $6 billion in the Berbice River Bridge.The PNCR said it hopes that as the NIS celebrates its 40th anniversary, the PPP/C administration would pledge to return that institution to professional management free from political control and direction.“It is the only way to guarantee that such an important institution is preserved to fulfil the goals that it was intended to achieve: social security for all Guyanese,” Corbin declared.He said the actuarial report as at 31 December 2006 made many recommendations for the future viability of the scheme that have been ignored, while the Government, in an attempt to avoid those recommendations, caused the Board to embark on, so-called,Cheap Senators Jerseys, national consultation aimed at circumventing the professional recommendations.Among the ideas being peddled by the Board was the extension of the pension age from 60 to 65, to which the PNCR has already objected in Parliament as being unacceptable, having regard to the life expectancy of Guyanese, Corbin stated.Of greater concern to the PNCR is the fate of the significant investment of $6 billion of NIS funds in Clico.Both President Jagdeo and the Parliament of Guyana assured NIS, like other policyholders, that the Government would guarantee to all policyholders that they would incur no losses.Yet, to date, the people of Guyana have heard nothing of significance from either the President or the Government, Corbin stated, and urged the Jagdeo Administration to make an unambiguous statement to the contributors of the NIS scheme, on the timing, manner and procedure that would be used to reimburse the NIS the money invested in Clico.The PNCR called on the management of NIS. to seriously review its systems to improve its efficiency and service to the contributors and beneficiaries.The party said the complaints against the NIS are many, including the unusual practice of forcing living pensioners who present themselves to incur expenditure to obtain life certificates from specially identified persons before they could obtain their entitlements, and, the length of time spent by beneficiaries to obtain their entitlements.These are some of the matters that need serious attention and it is hope that they would be urgently addressed, Corbin stated.While lauding the NIS on its 40th anniversary, Corbin said that it is incumbent upon the Government to ensure that the Scheme does not remain static, but strives to expand its scope and benefits.Among the issues for serious consideration are the expansion of the benefits and the incorporation of a scheme for unemployment benefits to persons out of employment.
