Dear Editor,
Mr. Vijay Singh’s letter captioned “Many have had bad experiences with the NIS” (07.02.24) gives a spate of inaccuracies including his calling Guyana “the lost backwater at the bottom of the poverty index.”
The Scheme, modeled after the British one when the Welfare State was supreme pays its contributors old age pensions, provides almost free medical care and medicines, highly subsidises dentures and dental care, spectacles and optical treatment, disability due to accidents, maternity benefits and expenses.
The NIS publishes its accounts for all to see and there are actuarial evaluations. The Management of the NIS is always striving to improve the Scheme and recently held a public consultation and has taken on board the problems of contributors and prospective contributors. Some of the problems raised by Hema Persaud in an earlier letter to which Singh referred are being addressed.
It would be wise for Vijay Singh to read the NIS accounts and other publications before going into print in his uninformed way.
Yours faithfully,
Lindon S Carew
