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Last Updated: Feb 13, 2017 - 1:45:37 AM |
 Nassau, Bahamas - What’s been happening at the National Insurance Board (NIB), the country’s social security safety-fund, is turning into a horror story that many of us wish not to have any thought of. The idea of the fund being in turmoil and left open for possible abuse is just as bad as what we heard about with the Ministry of Social Services with regard to the theft of food coupons and the mismanagement of systems to the benefit of a few individuals when it should be benefitting the poor.
As it stands now, complaints from the general public have surfaced and it is what the DNA would term a “sum of all fears!” When we hear of retirees, pensioners, persons on disability or unemployed persons looking for benefits that cannot in fact receive their benefits, we have to turn our attention to what exactly is happening and talk about how bad it has gotten over the course of the last several years.
We in the DNA remember very clearly that the former Director of the NIB, Algernon Cargill, was force-fired by this administration under controversial circumstances and a subsequent forensic audit of his tenure stated that NIB's practices were "inconsistent", at best.
The current Director of NIB, Rowena Bethel, has reportedly gone on record stating that she will not renew her contract, citing problematic systems and cultures within the fund that seem to be entrenched that she simply cannot overcome. Coincidentally, earlier in May, 2016 Mrs. Bethel announced that she fired an employee for the misappropriation of funds. The cashier in question sought representation from The Bahamas Public Service Union headed by John Pinder, but no resolution to her complaint has been cited to date.
The opportunities for theft and misappropriation of funds and mismanagement of funds are always present no matter what the agency or organization. Once there is a cash-point, whether for reception or dispensing, then the opportunities to abuse the system is always a present issue and that is why we should put in place checks and balances to mitigate such opportunities.
The DNA understands that there is a $14 million system that NIB is trying to implement. Some have cited that the system is over-priced by $2 million dollars, but regardless of your opinion, on record, the system has been procured for about $14 million. The system is having implementation challenges, and as a result persons are not receiving their benefits on time and the overall system is being backed up as reports and complaints pile up.
What’s sad is that all of these issues and chaotic events happened under this administration, brought on by issues carried over from the former, Free National Movement administration; i.e., the forensic audit into Mr. Cargill’s tenure as NIB Director that indicated “inconsistencies” over his tenure as Director in 2007 to 2012.
What the public has also seen is that under the former FNM administration, the NIB fund was used to fund several projects including that of Commonwealth Brewery and a host of other projects that we have not had a listing of for the public to view cleanly.
The current administration has also used the fund to finance the mess that is the Bank of The Bahamas after the troubled bank started to go under. In late, 2014, $200 million of NIB’s money was injected into the bank in a bailout attempt by the Ministry of Finance to save it. The government, through NIB and the Public Treasury, is now a 65% shareholder in the bank as a result of that transaction.
While the NIB fund was always stable, or so we have been told over the course of the last several years, we are seeing a trend of not taking the fund seriously. All of this is what prompted calls to have NIB audited in the first place, and also why millions are being spent to upgrade the "system" now, or so we have been told that this system upgrade is in fact being done with the full support of The Cabinet of The Bahamas and not just another wasteful spending project that sounds plausible but has no real backing to see to it that changes are made effectively.
Even more so when we factor in investments that the public is not keenly aware of its true performance, in addition to the exposure NIB has to the financial disaster known as The Bank of The Bahamas, the DNA must spring into action and take the necessary steps to ensure that NIB is safe. While we are aware we are not a part of the government, we understand that we have a strong voice in the community and will lobby as loudly as we could until our conditions are met.
The worst part of it all is that the current Minister for National Insurance, Shane Gibson, Member of Parliament for Golden Gates, does not have a record of efficient stewardship in public service having faced scandal and having been fired before for misconduct as Minister for Immigration in the handling and issuance of immigration permits; and also having been embroiled in a corruption and graft scandal that prompted the former administration to investigate Mr. Gibson when he also sat as Minister for Housing.
The former administration never delivered the audit findings that were being then overseen by the current FNM candidate for Garden Hills, Brensil Rolle, as Parliamentary Secretary in the Ministry of Housing along with the former Minister for Housing who was also fired under the former administration, Kenneth Russell, former MP for East Grand Bahama. The reasons for Mr. Russell’s firing and subsequent revocation of his nomination for the next general election are unknown, and the process surrounding the firing was bitter and fueled with animosity.
We in the DNA say that the lack of oversight of both administrations’ handling of NIB is telling! We need change from the way we handle the public’s business across the board, as it affects not only government ministries, but also the way we handle our most sacred social security fund. It’s not just a matter of trust anymore; it is being honest to do what’s right on your behalf as citizens and taxpayers.
The DNA offers you the option for better representation, better accountability and better reporting to you, the Bahamian people. We have said it time and time again and we have offered solutions time and time again. Join us in the change! Enough is Enough!!
Youri Kemp
DNA Candidate for Garden Hills
DNA Spokesperson for the Economy and Finance
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