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PENSIONERS’ APPRECIATION DAY & NIS NAME CHANGE (August 2004)

The National Insurance Services staged its 9th annual Pensioners’ Appreciation Day on August 4th 2004. The Prime Minister and other Government officials, members of the NIS board and the general public gathered at the NIS office to celebrate with our senior citizens. The NIS saluted these persons as the foundation builders of the social security programme.

The main speaker of the event was the Prime Minister, Honourable Dr. Ralph Gonsalves. He recognized the significant contribution made by the pensioners and informed the gathering about his Government’s initiatives in assisting the poor and elderly of this Country, such as the extension of the Non-contributory Assistance Age Pension (NAAP) to the banana farmers, and the Government’s contribution towards the Golden Age Activity Centers. The Prime Minister also expressed his appreciation to the NIS Board and staff for their hard work and encouraged us to continue to work towards bridging the gap so that social inclusion for all can become a reality.

Special remarks were also made by Mr. Lennox Bowman, Chairman of the National Insurance Board. He commended the Pensioners for their hard work, and their attributes of dignity, professionalism, loyalty and devotion. Mr. Bowman also informed the gathering about the NIS plans to extend the self-employed coverage to sailors and to contribute funds towards tertiary education in St. Vincent and the Grenadines.

The Executive Director, also speaking at this function, reassured the pensioners that the NIS will continue to heighten its efforts towards ensuring that their needs are met.

This event was also used to unveil the NIS new name, creed vision and charter.The institution’s name was officially changed to National Insurance Services. This name was chosen because it is felt that the institution is all about services, and that it’s a better reflection of our values and intentions as emphasized in the new mission statement, vision statement, creed, and customer charter. Adding to this, the Prime Minister stated that the change is necessary since the word “scheme” in the Caribbean is associated with unsavory terms such as trickery and fraud.

Mr. Sebastian “Bassy” Alexander, speaking on behalf of the pensioners, expressed his gratitude and delight for the pension and service that they receive from the NIS.He also appealed to the younger generation to become active members of social security programme so that they too can be covered under the NIS safety net. Mr. Leroy Wilson and Ricardo Mc Donald, NIS pensioners, entertained the audience with their musical renditions.

Agriculture and Fisheries Minister Girlyn Miguel, acting on behalf of the Prime Minister, presented pension cheques and tokens of appreciation to three pensioners: Stephanie Bowman, Fitzroy Goddard and Reginald Howard.

NIS GOLDEN YEARS ACTIVITY CENTRES

In an effort to improve the conditions and services towards the elderly population of St. Vincent and the Grenadines, The National Insurance Services in partnership with the Government have contributed towards the construction of two activity centers for senior citizens of this country. One center which is close to completion is located at Cane Grove on the Leeward side of the country. The other, which is still under construction, is located at Black Point on the Windward side.

The National Insurance Services has identified the goals for these centers from the findings of a survey conducted by HelpAge International in 2001. These include:

To improve the quality of life of the aged in St. Vincent and the Grenadines
To provide nutritional meals for the aged
To effectively utilize the skills of the retirees

Additionally, the following specific objectives were identified to ensure that the pensioners’ needs were taken care of:

To reduce the incidence of loneliness/isolation among the aged
To provide the aged with a facility for socialization and companionship
To cater for the nutritional needs among the aged particularly those who are suffering from diseases such as hypertension and diabetes
To assist the aged in learning how to effectively deal with their nutritional needs
To teach the aged how to evaluate changes in their dietary and health status.
To engage the services of retirees who are willing to share their skills with others of similar standing;
To provide ancillary funding for the administration of the Golden Years Center

There are private institutions in the Country that offer residential care for the aged but the prices are beyond the reach of the ordinary citizens. Additionally, most of these institutions offer permanent institutional care, but some persons do not need this type of care. They need instead, an institution where they can go in the day for socialization and recreation, and then return to their homes at nights. To fill this void, the National Insurance Services has taken the initiative to donate funds for the construction of these centers.

The facilities to be provided include a social activity room, an exercise room, a conference room, buffet area, kitchen, pantry, locker room, storage room, a patio and adequate space for outside recreational activities. There will be limited sleeping over facilities and this will provide an option for persons who may need alternative accommodation for their aged relatives.

A board of trustees has already been established to assume the primary responsibility for the centers. The board will consist of five persons drawn from civil society.

New NIS home in two years, The Vincentian, Friday, June 27th, 2003

Construction of the new headquarters of the National Insurance Scheme (NIS) moved one step closer to reality last Monday afternoon with the official signing of the owner's/architect agreement at Cabinet room on Bay street Kingstown.

The architectural design of the four-story building was awarded to the Architect's firm of Moulton Mayers and Associates.

Moulton Mayers signed on behalf of his firm, while Prime Minister Gonsalves initialed the document on behalf of the government and Chairman Lennox Bowman signed for the NIS.

The proposed NIS headquarters will be located on 45,000 square feet of land which formerly housed the Arrowroot Pool Association, next to the St. Vincent Marketing Corporation. It is estimated to be built at a cost of EC$12.5 million over a period of 18-24 months.

During his brief remarks Prime Minister Gonsalves, said the new facility would give the city a facelift and form part of the Urban Development Plan for Kingstown.

He deemed the investment of the NIS as a worthwhile one.

Meanwhile, Architect Mayers described the design of the building as keeping with the tradition of Kingstown with a modern vocabulary, contextual and not offensive to the environment of the capital.

The building will be a steel structure with concrete and will house the NIS business on the ground floor and the National Health Insurance on the first floor.

The second floor will be available for rent, while the third floor will consist of a conference centre and library facilities.