The Chairman of the National Insurance Scheme (NIS) Board of Directors, Ramesh Persaud believes that there is a need to amend the laws governing the insurance scheme to meet the needs of a modern society.

NIS is governed by the National Insurance and Social Security Act of 1969.

As he addressed the NIS 54^th Anniversary and General Assembly on Monday, Mr. Persaud, who has been at the helm of the institution since 2020, questioned the relevance of some of the rules governing the institution.

“Rules are meant to ensure that there is order in society and in an organisation like the National Insurance Scheme. My only issue is…I don’t know whether some of those rules are right still or whether they are still relevant to today’s environment. So, if I am to make a call to the senior management here, we have to proactively and quickly work towards resolving rules that would make sense in a modern society. 1969 to 2023 is a big different to many things,” the NIS Chair said.

He said there have been significant changes and advances in Guyana and the world by extension since 1969, and the NIS must adjust to those changes. He said it is important for the challenges confronting both the institution and contributors to be addressed now.

“We don’t have a decade, 10 years or 15 years to resolve the challenges of NIS; the challenges of NIS have to be resolved now when a pensioner is sitting in front of you. Because that pension may sit in front of you today but might not sit in front of you to tomorrow, and that’s the reality of life,” Persaud reasoned.

He said while NIS has made significant improvement in the process of claims with an average of 13,000 claims being processed every month, compared to 4,500 in the pastm several contributors continue to be placed at a disadvantage due to unscrupulous employers.

“On the flip side there are a few thousand who are unable to make their claims due to unscrupulous employers who would have collected people money and not paid over those money in time. As a board, as management, as an organisation, our responsibilities are not discretionary, we would love to be that social protection system whereby every person that walks in honour their claim and honour their benefit but we know that the system has to work to prevent those fraudsters who would come and try to make claims that are not necessarily what it should be,” the NIS Chairman said.

Minister of Finance, Dr Ashni Singh, in his address, said there is room for improvement as he called on the organization to raise its standard of operation. 

“I am proud of the NIS but the organization is getting a bad rap because of a few bad eggs and because of a few cases that really are tainting the entire Scheme and so the NIS has an obligation to deliver service in an efficient manner. On the occasion of this 54th Anniversary, I will appeal to you once again to raise the standards of your operation and to deliver efficient service to ensure that everybody that is coming in, that the claims are vigorously dealt with,” Minister Singh said.

He noted that a new Actuarial Review has commenced for the NIS, and stakeholders are already being engaged.

“This Government led by the President His Excellency Dr. Mohamed Irfaan Ali is firmly committed to the long-term viability of the NIS. So, we are here for the long haul,” Minister Singh said.

NIS General Manager, Holly Greaves said the NIS remains relevant in today’s society and will continue to meet the needs of the populace.

“It is evident that the safety net provided by the National Insurance Scheme plays an important role in the socio-economic fabric of our society. The scheme is currently recognised as the main social security provider to the people of Guyana. We have before us the task to continue to maintain this institution and develop and improve on our services in years to come. Today, as we celebrate, let us reflect on our achievements and the many challenges that we face,” Greaves her staff.

She said as the scheme moves forward, focus will be placed on data management and improved customer service.

According to her, greater effort will be made on updating the contribution data base, cleansing and securing the scheme’s records to allow for easy retrieval of information.

To celebrate its anniversary, the NIS provided a number of bursary awards and also recognized the contributions of long-serving employees.

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