A MAJOR SCANDAL is threatening to rock the National Insurance Scheme (NIS) at its core.
Word reaching Cou Cou is that key NIS employees are fed-up with what they term as Government’s indifference to the scheme’s well-being, and the silence of the scheme’s top management on what is happening.
According to a frustrated NIS official, Government owes the scheme millions in payments on behalf of public servants, and sometimes when they do pay them something, it is a combination of debentures and cash.
He said this was ridiculous since the NIS needs cash flowing in so it can pay those who had legitimate claims.
Enjoying benefits
The official added that the only reason public servants’ claims were being honoured and they were still enjoying NIS benefits, despite the Government’s tardiness, was because they were Government employees.
He insisted if a private business was behind on its payments like the Government is, then that company’s staff would most likely not have their claims honoured.
The official said it was shameful that nothing has been said about this by the NIS’ management even though it has been going on now for a few years.
What made him blow the whistle, he said, was that the situation was getting worse and there seems to be no solution in sight. He condemned the practice of the NIS accepting debentures instead of cash, likening it to taking IOUs, when the scheme already held millions of dollars in Government paper – much more than was considered prudent.
Furthermore, the official revealed that the Government has been very tardy in paying rent to the NIS for occupying the high rise Baobab Towers and Tower Two in Warrens, St Michael.
Suitable return
He claimed those buildings were built after the NIS consulted with the various ministries on their accommodation needs to ensure the scheme constructed a building that would give it a suitable return on its investment. But this plan was now not working.
Ordinarily Cou Cou would not have identified the NIS based on this whistle blower charges alone because of the major worries such information could cause.
But almost everything this staffer said was contained in the International Monetary Fund’s last Article IV Consultation Report on Barbados.
Specifically, the IMF said that the NIS was “well managed”; however, it urged Government to “make contributions in a timely manner (rather than providing the equivalent in debentures) to ensure that NIS has sufficient liquidity”. Enough said.zxzxzxzxzxzxzxzxzxzxzxzxzxzxzxzxzxzxzxzxzxzxzxzxzxzxzxz
IT SEEMS THAT instead of being a unifying force for patriotism, the 50th anniversary of Independence Mega Concert at Kensington Oval on Wednesday night may have opened an age-old resentment.
The situation surrounds The Sandpebbles and Spice – the two predominately white bands who performed – stayed longer on stage than any of the black artistes.
Apparently this was a major talking point in some of the stands as well as in the courtyard area where people went to buy refreshments.
From what Cou Cou was told, The Sandpebbles though a delight to hear after four decades were understandably flat. Spice too lacked that spark to ignite the thousands gathered. Yet the former played at least five tunes, while the latter were on for what seemed like a half hour, if not more.
Yet crowd pleasers like Tony Grazette, MADD and Wendy Alleyne just sang one song, while Grynner and Richard Stoute managed two before having to leave the stage.
Some patrons said the treatment meted out to the black artistes was not good enough, especially at a golden jubilee concert celebrating a black dominated country’s independence.
The organising committee needs to clear the air on this one before perception becomes reality.