WPA says NIS IS IN CRISIS: HOW DID IT GET THERE?

The Actuary of the NIS has confirmed that the NIS is in crisis. This problem has been simmering for nearly fifteen years and was pointed out by the Actuary in his Seventh (2001), Eighth (2006) and Ninth (2011) Actuarial Reports. Yet Jagdeo as President, Ashni Singh as Minister responsible for the NIS and Dr. Luncheon as NIS Chairman since 1992, have fiddled while the state of the Scheme has deteriorated.

The problems of the NIS were worsened by Jagdeo/Singh/Luncheon and their failure of oversight of the insurance sector. That caused the NIS to suffer its biggest investment loss in its forty-six years history: over six billion dollars. Under the watch of Jagdeo and Ashni Singh, CLICO was allowed to violate the law and give policy holders’ money to CLICO in The Bahamas.

When the TRINIDAD parent of CLICO Guyana collapsed, the incompetent Jagdeo went to Trinidad and Tobago and asked for US$15 million promising that GUYANA WOULD TAKE NO ACTION AGAINST CLICO. Jagdeo, Singh and Luncheon did not realise or care that the biggest loser in this foolish “settlement” would be the NIS.

After a payment to the NIS in the form of CLICO’s Camp Street Building now used by the GRA, the NIS’loss in CLICO stands at $5.2 billion. Yet, not satisfied with what they had done, as NICIL ran out of money to pay for the construction of the Marriott Hotel, Singh and Luncheon took $950 million from the NIS to pay the Chinese contractor. In exchange, NICIL gave to the NIS non-performing preference shares in the Berbice Bridge Company.

The NIS now has on its books over six billion dollars in investments that are producing no income and that should have already been written off as losses. Those losses were caused by Mr. Jagdeo and Drs. Singh and Luncheon. Those losses will have to be borne by workers and pensioners. The result: higher contributions and lower and delayed payment of benefits as workers, especially in sugar, are experiencing.

The PPP/C, FITUG, GAWU and the Private Sector Commission do not want to talk about the problems of the NIS. They do not care. They cannot fix the problem. Their leaders have looked after themselves: they do not need NIS benefits. But YOU do.

So to guarantee your pension from the NIS, VOTE out those who have incapacitated the Scheme. And VOTE FOR THOSE WHO WILL MAKE THE NIS VIABLE ONCE AGAIN. VOTE APNU+AFC