AG to engage East Coast communities on NIS matters

Residents of the East Coast Demerara will have a chance to have their issues concerning National Insurance Scheme (NIS) benefits addressed at a community outreach set for Saturday at Annandale.

Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs, Hon. Mohabir Anil Nandlall SC, who holds parliamentary responsibility for the East Coast would be engaging residents in this regard.

Accessing NIS benefits was one of the issues residents raised during an outreach led by President Dr. Mohamed Irfaan Ali on Saturday to communities including Lusignan, Buxton, Enterprise and Golden Grove. Several persons complained that they have had to wait several years to access their benefits.

Immediately, the President instructed Minister Nandlall to designate one of his weekly community engagements to deal specifically with NIS-related matters. He will also be instructing representatives from the insurance scheme to attend Saturday’s event.

“The President and I, and indeed every politician in this country, would know that the NIS issues are a burning one, irrespective of which location you go in this country and we engage widely, every community in this country has dozens, if not hundreds of persons who are affected or disaffected by NIS-related issues,” Minister Nandlall told DPI.

He said that in the long term, the Government will be looking at a complete overhaul of the entire NIS system. Further, Minister Nandlall said the NIS Act requires a full review, which he has committed to undertake.