Dear Editor,
Should the Attorney General (AG) be defending and supporting the NIS appeal to Justice Damone Younge’s ruling? Should the AG call off the appeal instead? Though there may be ’LEGAL’ arguments for the appeal, the reality is that NIS is failing to deliver the benefits due to the employed and the retired. The ACT (at 31), provides for the NIS to appoint inspectors to give effect to the provisions of the ACT. The NIS contributions are compulsory. The contributions are to be collected by employers and handed over to the NIS. The NIS, via its inspectors, is responsible to see that the monies are handed over. Are the NIS inspectors failing in their duties to ensure compliance by employers?
The Government needs to accept that there are flaws within NIS; and commit to do all that is necessary to overcome them. The focus should forever be to get NIS to deliver what is promised in the National Insurance and Social Security Act. Also, the AG should champion the amendment of 45 (1) to make NIS responsible for taking errant employers to court to recover all unpaid payments. The affected employees and retirees should not be the ones to take the employers to court. Who is better able to get employers to meet their legal obligations? The NIS failures result in thousands of workers and retirees unfairly penalized for decades. Powerless Guyanese deserve their Government to show that it cares deeply for them too.
Sincerely,
Faiyaz Alli
