A missed opportunity at launch of pensioners association — Christopher Ram — Opinion

A missed opportunity at launch of pensioners association

October 22, 2026·2 min read

Dear Editor,

On Monday October 19, a new organisation called the Guyana Association of Retired Persons (GARP) was launched at the exclusive Georgetown Club.^[1] I welcome the initiative. But the red carpet, formal attire, bouquets, gifts and elaborate acknowledgements contrasted sharply with pensioners struggling with inadequate incomes, difficulties obtaining benefits, and public buildings almost inaccessible to the infirm. The occasion offered an opportunity to demand concrete commitments from those responsible for their welfare. The opportunity was largely missed.

The Guyana Constitution supplies the proper starting point. Article 24 recognises the right to free medical attention and social care in old age and disability, while Article 149D (2) requires the State to take measures to protect disadvantaged persons and persons with disabilities. Article 149B expressly protects public sector workers’ pension and gratuity entitlements. These guarantees should have framed the launch. Pensioners are citizens with rights, and GARP – and all persons and groups purporting to represent them – should promote and defend their interests.

Instead, the launch celebrated President Irfaan Ali as patron by virtue of holding the presidency, while GARP’s constitution remains unpublished. Beyond his office, Ali has no moral claim to the honour while his Government stands accused of systematically and knowingly underpaying approximately 27,000 NIS minimum-pension recipients for over five years^[2], forcing them to seek redress in court. The accumulated shortfall potentially exceeds $500,000 per pensioner. These are earned entitlements owed to people some of whom, as GARP President Joseph Harmon acknowledged, must choose between food and medical care.

To earn the privilege, Ali should have been asked to commit publicly that his government would consent to the reliefs sought in the legal action brought by a few brave pensioners^[3] and facilitate payment of their lawful entitlements as early as practicable, but certainly before yearend. The launch was an ideal occasion for the announcement of that undertaking. Dr. Vindhya Persaud, the Minister of Human Services and Social Security was present^[1], and the President had also sent representatives. There were ample channels through which to convey a demand.

It appears that GARP’s constitution provides for Presidential and ministerial representation on its Board, raising immediate concern about its independence, sharpened by the absence of workers’, consumers’ and independent civil society representatives from the platform. This places GARP in danger of becoming another captured civil society body from birth.

GARP should immediately publish its constitution, explain how its Board was selected, widen its membership and announce elections. Meanwhile, I invite Mr Harmon and his fellow directors to publicly support the pensioners’ court action and to call on their patron to facilitate payment of what is lawfully due. That would give pensioners a concrete reason to welcome GARP and provide an early test of its independence.

Readers can view the launch on Facebook and judge for themselves.

Yours faithfully,
Christopher Ram

References

Guyana Association Of Retired Persons Launched - HGPTV - Guyana's Nightly News and Entertainment Channel — www.hgptv.com ↩
Ram, Unions Move Against NIS Over Five Years of Pension Arrears – Village Voice News — villagevoicenews.com ↩
Minimum pensioners taking NIS Board to court over lawful rate - Kiskadee Watch — kiskadeewatch.com ↩

Source

A missed opportunity at launch of pensioners association in Kiskadee Watch, October 22, 2026

The National Insurance Scheme (NIS) is facing the threat of legal action over alleged underpayments of the statutory minimum old-age pension dating back to 2021, with attorney and commentator Christopher Ram and 10 trade unions demanding that outstanding sums be calculated and paid. A formal letter dated October 1, 2026, from Christopher Ram and Associates gives the NIS Board seven days to state its position on the alleged underpayments and account for the amounts owed to minimum-rate pensioners. The letter was sent to the Secretary of the NIS Board and copied to the Board’s Chairman, the NIS General Manager and Senior Minister in the Office of the President with responsibility for Finance. ... At the centre of the dispute is Regulation 4(b) of the National Insurance and Social Security (Benefit) Regulations. The NIS itself currently states that an old-age pension “must not be less than 50% of the existing Public Service Minimum Wage.” Ram and the unions contend that this statutory minimum has not been consistently reflected in payments since 2021. According to their letter, the last year in which the minimum pension matched the 50 per cent formula was 2020, when the Public Service minimum wage was $70,000 and the NIS minimum pension was $35,000. The dispute centres on what the Board was legally required to do as the Public Service minimum wage subsequently increased. The 2026 National Estimates, cited in the letter, put the Public Service minimum wage at $102,346. Half of that is $51,173, while the published NIS minimum pension is $43,075. That represents a claimed monthly shortfall of $8,098 for each pensioner receiving the minimum rate. The NIS confirms that the minimum old-age and invalidity pension was increased from $35,000 to $43,075 effective January 1, 2025. Ram and the unions argue, however, that a later adjustment cannot extinguish any arrears that had already accrued if pensioners were legally entitled to a higher minimum during earlier periods. > “Nor is the default cured by a later increase. The subsequent adjustment of the minimum pension does not extinguish arrears which had already accrued.” The letter further challenges the treatment of any Public Service minimum-wage increases that were applied retroactively, arguing that the Board would need to identify the legal basis for not applying the corresponding pension adjustment from the same effective date. ... The group is also relying on Section 34(2) of the National Insurance and Social Security Act, which expressly provides that any temporary insufficiency in the Fund’s assets to meet its liabilities may be met with money advanced by Parliament. That provision is significant to the legal argument because, according to the letter, an inability of the NIS Fund to meet a statutory liability would not by itself establish that the liability could simply go unpaid. Ram and the unions are therefore demanding that the Board identify every pensioner affected, calculate the alleged arrears from 2021 onward and make payment. If the Board disputes liability, they want it to state within seven days the precise legal basis on which it considers payments below the alleged statutory minimum to have been lawful. Failure to provide a satisfactory response, the letter warns, will result in legal proceedings “without further notice.” The proposed action could seek court declarations on the pension entitlement, an accounting of sums allegedly owed, payment of arrears with interest, mandatory orders requiring continuing compliance with the regulations and legal costs. ... The unions supporting the action ... the ... ated ... Trades Union Congress (GTUC), National Union of ... , ... Union, Guyana ... Officers Union ... Union of ... and ... Workers ... United Minibus ... Guyana ... Guyana ... GTC ... GTT ... Association and Guyana ... auxite and General Workers Union. ... The NIS Board now has seven days from receipt of the letter to respond before the threatened proceedings are initiated. The underlying question of whether the alleged arrears are legally due would ultimately be for the appropriate legal process to determine.

Minimum pensioners taking NIS Board to court over lawful rate - Kiskadee Watch

kiskadeewatch.com · 2026-10-10

An application for judicial review was filed yesterday in the High Court against the National Insurance Board over its alleged failure, since January 2021, to pay the minimum old-age pension at the lawful rate. The Applicants are civil society activist Christopher Ram, pensioner Kalicharan Heera, the Union of Agricultural and Allied Workers, the United Minibus Union and the Guyana Market Vendors Union. A release on behalf of the applicants say that they are asking the Court to declare mandatory the floor of 50% of the Public Service minimum wage. They also want the court to order payment of the NIS minimum pension at that rate, and to order an account and payment of all arrears since 2021, with interest, including to the estates of deceased pensioners. Ram had previously said the outstanding sums could run into billions of dollars. Regulation 4(b) of the NIS Benefit Regulations provides that the pension shall “in no case” be less than 50% of the Public Service minimum wage. The release said that the Board broadly honoured this until 2020. “Since 2021 the wage has risen every year while the pension lagged behind. Today the floor is $51,173, but minimum pensioners receive only $43,075, a shortfall of $8,098 every month. On the Applicants’ calculation, persons receiving the minimum pension throughout the period since 2021 are owed about $510,300 each. The NIS has never doubted its obligation. The Benefit Regulations set it out, and the NIS website, Annual Reports and actuarial reports repeated it: the minimum pension must not be less than 50% of the Public Service minimum wage”, the release said. ... It added that Parliament was also put on notice. In 2024, Annette Ferguson MP tabled a Motion, seconded by Juretha Fernandes MP, calling on Government to make retroactive payments to minimum pensioners for 2021 to 2023. The Motion was rejected by the Speaker, and the pensioners remain unpaid, the release said. ... The Applicants will serve proceedings on the Board and the Attorney General, the Government’s Chief Legal Adviser. Under section 34(2) of the National Insurance and Social Security Act, Parliament must make up any shortfall in the National Insurance Fund. If the Scheme cannot pay what the law guarantees, the Government must, the release contended. By its own words, the applicants say the Board has consistently acknowledged the 50% floor and, with it, its obligation. The Applicants invited the Board to assist the Court in resolving this matter quickly and in the interests of the pensioners it serves. ... Ram and 10 unions wrote the NIS Board on October 1st threatening legal action over the arrears of statutory minimum old-age pension due to pensioners since 2021. The letter was sent to the Secretary of the National Insurance Scheme (NIS) Board and copied to the Chairman of the National Insurance Board, the General Manager of the NIS and the Senior Minister in the Office of the President with Responsibility for Finance. There was no satisfactory response by the board to the letter. In a comment to Kiskadee Watch on the October 1st letter, Ram said: “We have been drawn into this action because a statutory right designed to protect the elderly and vulnerable has been curtailed by an administration that has failed to do what the law requires. In a country whose extraordinary growth has been repeatedly celebrated, minimum pensioners should not have to fight for a few thousand dollars already theirs by law.

Guyana Association Of Retired Persons Launched - HGPTV - Guyana's Nightly News and Entertainment Channel

www.hgptv.com · 2026-10-21

GEORGETOWN, GUYANA — In a major civic initiative designed to protect the rights, financial security, and social dignity of senior citizens, former Minister of State and retired Guyana Defence Force (GDF) Lieutenant Colonel Joseph Harmon has formally launched the Guyana Association of Retired Persons (GARP). The non-governmental, not-for-profit body was officially inaugurated on Monday, October 19, 2026, during an opening ceremony held at the Georgetown Club on Camp Street, drawing senior citizens, community advocates, and executive policymakers, including Minister of Human Services and Social Security, Dr. Vindhya Persaud. ... Addressing the gathering, Harmon framed the establishment of GARP as an urgent response to systemic gaps facing older Guyanese. Emphasizing that seniors represent an underutilized national reservoir of institutional knowledge rather than a social burden, the former minister declared that the organization will serve as a non-partisan, unified advocate to reshape how the nation treats aging and post-retirement life. ... ### Government Support: Dr. Vindhya Persaud Pledges Partnership Welcoming the founding of the association, Minister of Human Services and Social Security Dr. Vindhya Persaud commended Harmon for organizing an institutional platform dedicated to retirees, affirming the government’s readiness to collaborate directly with GARP: - Rejecting the ‘End of Usefulness’ Myth: Dr. Persaud expressed concern that modern workplace culture often casts retirees aside once their formal contracts end, disregarding their foundational contributions to national development. - State Cooperation: The Minister reaffirmed that the Ministry of Human Services will work alongside GARP to strengthen elderly protection mechanisms, enhance pension delivery systems, and support community centers tailored to senior recreation and wellness. > “When people look at retirement and aging, somehow or the other they think that they have come to the end of their usefulness,” Dr. Persaud noted, challenging employers and families to respect senior citizens as active contributors to national growth.