Dear Editor,
We would like to thank the SN for supporting Civil Society advocates who have highlighted problems at the NIS over the years, while the Opposition has fallen into a coma regarding this issue. Mr. Christopher Ram, a civil society advocate, has recently written about on-going failures and apparent lack of compassion at the National Insurance Scheme (NIS). In his article in the SN, “The Tragic Cases of Three Pensioners,” (SN, March 12, 2026), Mr. Ram highlighted three cases that bring tears to the eyes that a Government agency can be so callous under current leadership. There is Mr. Zainul, a carpenter, who won his case against NIS, but the Government side appealed the case. He has been waiting for his benefits for almost 15 years and he now has health issues. Is NIS waiting for him to die so they don’t have to pay benefits? Mr. Ram says there was another pensioner who believed that she had satisfied the statutory requirement of 750 contributions but was informed that she was short by four contributions. After months of struggle, she eventually instructed that the case be withdrawn. because the process had exhausted her. The delays, the resistance and the strain of the struggle had taken a serious toll on her health and peace of mind. At her stage of life, she simply no longer had the strength to continue fighting the system. The third case was an appeal concerning pension entitlement filed in 2010 but was not heard until 2023. The Appeal Tribunal eventually ruled in his favour but he has not received his benefits. He is in his 80s and has been diagnosed with cancer. Is NIS waiting for him to die?
These are tragic cases indeed but are only the tip of the iceberg. Over the years, there have been thousands of people for whom NIS has incomplete records. Many of these are sugar workers and rural residents in areas that usually vote for the PPP. Because of inaccurate record keeping, older contributors have been denied benefits because the NIS has failed in its statutory duty to monitor employers and ensure contribution statements are accurate. My cousin has been denied benefits for 30+ years. He claims NIS is missing one year of his contributions. If that one missing year of contributions is added to the 740 contributions NIS says he has, he would qualify for a regular pension. In my own case, I cannot get the President’s one-time cash award from the $10 billion, the President set aside to pay people who do not qualify for monthly benefits. In my case, the NIS has two different contribution records. The one you can access on the NIS website has a lower number of contributions than the printout given to me by the NIS. The NIS printout lists me as having 499 contributions, one short of the 500 needed for the President’s one-time payout. NIS is missing 5 years of my contributions and two other years are inaccurate. I understand it has been said that someone at the NIS said it would be “over her dead body,” that me and my cousin will get any benefits because I had been critical of the state of affairs at the NIS denying benefits to people because of inaccurate contribution records.
Mr. President, you are a man of great compassion. it is time for the Finance Minister to rein in the NIS. How much more punishment can people take? Fix the management/leadership problems at NIS, “Because We Care.” We need “government efficiency” at the NIS now. NIS makes the government look bad!