1 board, 1 minister, 6 years, 27,000 pensioners

Oct 16, 2026 Features / Columnists, The GHK Lall Column

(Kaieteur News) – It is the Guyana Way. The law provides. The numbers spiral. The wait intensifies. The suspense pierces. Sounds like a PPP Govt production. It is. On standby with hand outstretched are 27,000 Guyanese. They have given their labours to Guyana. They are NIS pensioners with increases due. According to attorney-at-law and chartered accountant, Mr. Chris Ram’s arithmetic, and his reading of the law. To emphasise: some 27,000 NIS pensioners are due six years of backpay. The NIS board of directors and management have resorted to what’s now standard practice in Guyana. Stoic, monastic, silence. There was a Poor People Crusade in England. There could be a geriatric impatience in Guyana. Their ranks thin daily, some may not have much longer. Pay the pensioners. Please. What’s so hard to get that done?

Full coveragePensioners and Unions Sue National Insurance Board Over Old-Age Pension Arrears5 reports

Using a rough average, the 27,000 NIS pensioners are due somewhere around $500,000 or more each to bring them current, and this is for the minimum level recipients. I don’t think the NIS Board has expired. So, why are 27,000 NIS pensioners held hostage, left exposed to the elements? A crippling cost-of-living environment is one. The arrears cash would make a difference, even if it’s to their bank accounts. Boards are autonomous bodies. They are supposed to act without fear, be independent. So, why is the NIS Board operating so sluggishly? The NIS Board can’t lose its voice. Even if it did, a decision could still be made, after proper voting.