This government seems not to care too much for the older folk, except on polling day when they are lifted from their beds to the polling booth. The Minister of Transport has a grand plan of making senior citizens undergo a driving test after 60 years of age,as if its the seniors who are responsible for the majority of accidents on our roads today.
I am delighted when I see these so called giants who over the years ,inflict undue hardships on certain people ,become victims of their own making, when they are no longer in power.

I would not be too harsh on Dr Sukoo-Byer because my understanding is that she found out about the new change the same time that the rest of Barbados heard it i.e. via the news. Apparently the board never sought to inform her.

@Watching

‘I would not be too harsh on Dr Sukoo-Byer because my understanding is that she found out about the new change the same time that the rest of Barbados heard it i.e. via the news. Apparently the board never sought to inform her.”

If that is indeed the case then the Board needs to be fired.It is the only way she can redeem herself because rest assured it will be a platform issue, Sutherland must be liking his chops.

@David

Sutherland will not defeat Dr. Byer.

@Casweell

uou did not answer my question. The delivery of mail is not free. Who pays the postmen, the people of barbados or the taxpayers. So to say that the delivery of mail is free is a misnomer.

I am going to be the develi’s advocate, in which year the was computer system introduced and who was the Minister reponsible for nis Who approved the cost for the system and who appointed Mr. Carrinton as Director, even though he was an inexperienced person. Did your party not pushed all those persons with accounting qualifications into those top managment positions instead of grroming them properly, look at the amount of money owed to the vat dept, look at inland revenue and nis. have those entities been managed properly or in a nutshell, have you seen improvement in service delivery since those persons with those qualifications took over.

To SAVE $50,000? But I thought the DLP’s mantra is Barbados is more than an economy, it is a SOCIETY?

@Just Asking

Tony Marshall’s involvement shouldn’t matter if the Minister and Cabinet would have taken the right decision.

I agree with “Obediant” when he mentions costs associated with the mailing of cheques to pensioners. The cost is not only related to “free” postage but there are associated costs of envelopes, time, paper stock for cheques etc. surely the aim is to be more efficient. Some Bajans like to have one foot in the 21st century and the other in the 18th century.

I hate to mention this as sometimes comparisons are odious but in my neck of the woods many seniors were not in favour of direct deposit until the year the postmen went on strike. The strike opened a lot of eyes and the participation rate is close to 100 % today, so why are we not interested in efficient delivery of Gov’t services?

“Silly Season” indeed.

@David

Hah! Hah! Is that “cultural facia” related to the postman delivering cheques to pensioners? Kinda reminds me of the day when my grandmother used to wait for the postman to deliver the British Money Orders from my kin.

Anyway me mum is back there and the Brits deposit her pension direct to her bank account and she can use her debit card to withdraw funds and buy groceries etc.

And about that “personable society” down there, I am laughing louder now, how come so many of the old folks are now in Senior citizens homes where they consider themselves lucky if their offspring visit them once a month?

I could go on about “personable society” but I’ll hold my thoughts for now.

David

I’ll take your word that “old people” still “trust goods” but I will be politically correct and refer to them as Senior citizens from now on, but have you ever heard of a policy that’s enacted which everyone is in favour of? There are always naysayers and sometimes the naysayers voices are the loudest but we should be looking at the greater good and the long term benefits. When is the optimum time to enact a mandatory direct deposit system for pension cheques? Shouldn’t we start sometime? A two grid system where some opt in and some remain outside just perpetuates the waste and increase the costs.

If you apply the pros and cons of direct deposit versus the mailing of cheques the “pros” of direct deposit win hands down, sure some people will be hard done by but for every one who “trusts” from a local shop there are probably two or more who are victims of elder abuse and some relative/friend waiting to get their hands on the cheque and give the Senior a pittance.

Seniors get to the grocery stores, they get to the doctor, they get to church, they get to the Health clinics but getting to the Bank is difficult.

Is the DLP in serious hot water in using taxpayers money to support a private company such as CLICO?

Excerpt from trinidadexpress:

THE sale of CLICO Energy to Barbados firm Proman Holdings was above board, attorney Christopher Hamel-Smith said yesterday.

He made the statement during his cross-examination of former group financial director of CL Financial Michael Carballo yesterday.

CLICO Energy was sold for US$40 million while it was valued at US$200 million, Carballo said.

/closed excerpt

Am i missing something here? Perhaps, US$160 million? Can taxpayers afford to support this company not knowing the facts?

Who has been arrested for this wanton neglect to investors? Will governments who now seek to stop the holes in this company with tax dollars survive, as the shit continues to hit the fan?

Alzheimer’s disease is a progressive, degenerative disorder that attacks the brain and results in disorientation, with impaired memory, thinking, and judgement. It is said that people with Alzheimers also undergo changes in their behavior. So that would explain it!

It is also said that this combination of symptoms is also called dementia.” The “Austin Diagnostic Clinic” website – asked the following question and gave the answer: ‘Does having diabetes put you at greater risk for Alzheimer’s disease?’ The answer: ‘Several research studies over the past decade are showing a link between the two diseases. For some scientists the link is so strong that they believe Alzheimer’s may actually be a type of diabetes.’

If Barbados had a Prime Minister that fits this profile that would indeed, be a horrible thing? What if he were to forget and put one million dollars in his personal Bank Account? What if – while serving as Minister of Finance – he were to give a Trinidadian contractor, say – twenty-five million (one time) to build a building – not remembering that payments can only be made in law, based on scope of work or actual work completed? What if he were to forget that the biggest con-artists in the world are said to be from Nigeria and he were to pay a company there $2.4 million to enter a joint-venture to manufacture solar water heaters? What if he were to meet with the principals of a company, at say – the Pegasus hotel in Guyana and did not remember that such is unethical, especially if that company is seeking a contact under his Ministry?

It was made public in 2007, that Owen Arthur did not remember that he put over $75,000 intended for the BLP as campaign financing, into his personal bank account. But everyone is entitles to make a mistake. It is the frequency of those mistakes that should cause people to take serious notice. It may only be a coincidence but local newspapers reported last year following the BLP’s Annual Conference, that Owen Arthur told those gathered that the BLP and the country need Mia Mottley and yet, the same party, which he leads, recently altered its Standing Orders to keep her from obtaining the office of Party Chairman, yet not a word from him.

Owen Arthur could not remember during the recent budget debate, that he actually chaired the meetings of Cabinet on the very days that the matter of VECO was discussed. He said he wished he was there. But when told by both Minister Sinckler and the Prime Minister – ‘no Owen, you were there,’ he then said that he said something else. When pressed again, he again said something completely different and also said that he never said what he said on the two previous occasions the entire country heard him say it.

He now thinks that there can be no Barbados without him and that only he can lead Barbados and the BLP. Owen Arthur does not realise that if Christopher Sinckler is already the Minister of Finance – in what is the second worst recession ever – that Sinckler (at the next general election) will have more experience than him, dealing with a situation he (Owen) has never deal with.

The world has change and will continue to change but Owen Arthur does not know or remember that. Owen Arthur curse Mara Thompson but he does not remember that. He called a media conference to cuss Mia Mottley but he did not remember that Parliament was being held that very morning. For close to three years he forgot that he had to go to Parliament on Tuesdays. He said there is a clamour for him but voted for himself. He told the country that VECO was bad for Barbados but signed a “Letter of Comfort” for them to build the same prison he told the country he never had anything to do with. If he wanted nothing to do with VECO, then why did he give it a multi-million dollar contract to build an oil storage facility?

I do not know if Owen Arthur still drinks heavy; cuss and threatens people! What I do know is that Owen Arthur forgot to pay for the building at Warrens and that mistake will now cost the country close to $90 million. I am not a doctor but the dictionary states that “dementia” is the gradual deterioration of mental functioning, such as concentration, memory, and judgment, which affects a person’s ability to perform normal daily activities.” Maybe that is why he needs Mascoll to do the work for him and Doctor Jerome Walcott to prescribe the medication. I am just wondering if the problems only occur when he does not take his medication?

DONT you think that the above comments about former Prime Minister Owen Arthur are uncharitable , unkind ungrateful and disrepectful ??

DONT you think that the person who made those comments , hiding behind a pseudonym shouldnt be ashamed of themselves for writing such ‘nasty ‘ nastiness ???
IS this what you get for service to your country ????
DOES it have to get this dirty and slimy???
WHATS the use of free higher education if people cannot conduct themselves in a more matured and respectful manner ????
JUST ASKING !

@Just asking

Has the person said anytHing libellous about owen? Owen was paid for doing a job and very handsomely. He pretented that he was not in favour of the salary increase and all of them took it, he used his position to enrich his friends AND PLOTICAL ALLIES do u remember the acronym that his Deput Mascoll coined, it was JAWS (i think that what it was called) go do to some research and then add hardwood AND TELL ME WHAT YOU FOUND.

By the way, you are entilted to your views about Marshall, arn’t you, the other bloggers have their point of view and are hiding under a pseudonym just like you. owen was and is no sweet bread, he used to cuss public officers with unpunity.

@ Colonel Buggy
Cost of Postage………… $50,000 per annum.
Number of pensioners. ..35,000.
Postage Cost per pensioner…$1.43
Take the above equation to it logical conclusion
Monthly postage per pensioner……….$0.119 (approx 20cents/month)
For just 20 cents per month the NIS board was prepared to cause undue pain and stress to a large number of our elderly. Talk about lighting a hundred dollar bill to find five cents!!!!! This is brilliance at its best.
We then have to look at the other side on the coin. When these pensions are lodged to the bank is there is now a great deal of administration by the banks’ staff. As well intended as the banks might be to assist the pensioners I can see the banks in the near future stating that because of the administration of dealing with these accounts that they are forced to implement fees associated with such. Bear in mind that if many pensioner live from pay cheque to pay cheque they will only leave enough on the account to keep it open therefore these accounts will not benefit the bank so increasing fees for these accounts will be understandable.

It really gets a little tiring reading about Mr Arthur depositing a $75,000.00 cheque to his account which was intended for the party. People be real now, the manager’s cheque was made payable to Arthur so who can cash but Mr Arthur. In all likelihood when he presented that cheque on election-day in 2003 he had to give the bank an explanation for the receipt of the funds (anti-money laundering regulations).
What I would say is that if the company intended to give that money to the party the cheque would have been written to the Barbados Labour Party not Mr Arthur. The question is why would the company (CLICO) personally give Mr Arthur $75,000.00?
I wonder how much Mr Thompson was given personally because I understand that Mr Parris/ CLICO gave the DLP $30,000.00 (remember that Mr. Mascoll was leading the party at the time).
Another thing I know that businesses are duty bound to keep accounting documents for seven-years but to miraculously come up with a cheque in Jan 2008 that was written approx five years ago in May 2003 smells of a plot (Imagine the hundreds of cheques written between those dates). Was some person given a copy to be used at a later date hmmmm!

@Observing

This is true if you only think in terms of dollars and cents. Fortunately our elderly are more than just a line item on a balance sheet
***********************************
So Thompson was right after all, the country is more than an economy………

WHATS a little cussing to gee -up a person ???
DIDN’T EWB and politicians of that era cussed people on political platforms , in the house and on the phone and insult people to their face?
WHAT did EWB say about Leroy Brathwaite when he walked up the House of Assembly steps ????
WHAT did EWB say about John Connell ???
WHERE you now come from though ????
HOWCUM we have gotten so soft ???
HAVE you never played netball or hockey, cricket or any other sports or undergone any military or semi -military–discipline experience such as girl guides , scouts, cadets, brownies, blossoms ?????

@Trained Economist

Your position that direct deposit was always meant to be the default option is news to the general public.

It was never communicated in the way you described.

One would imagine that transitioning to a more efficient system could have been businesscased and discussed with the public, specifically the target.

Thanks Trained Economist

Will put this on our FB status to put the word out there.

A couple points which have been triggered by your recent comments:

1. for such an important fund, in fact the most important in Barbados financials as at 2002 is not acceptable

2. why not put a request for proposal to the banks to service a ‘No Chargeable Pension Account’ .

The carrot would be an allocation from the cost savings from generating the cheques currently.

Those pensioners who make the bank account a default option would benefit from offers which the NIS and the bank which wins the tender can agree.

I just got an email, and i was told that when the new board convened in 2008, the most recently available audited financials were for 1998, which was what triggered discussions about the problems with bank reconciliations and the large volume of cheques written, hence the discussion about the need for more direct deposits.

Sounds reasonable to me.

@Caswell

Can you scan this document and forward?

Regarding your comment about Dennis Clarke who leads a trade union representing the majority of the civil service. we can only hope you are wrong in the year 2011:

Finally, I hope that Dennis Clarke of NUPW who sits on the NIS Board had nothing to with this decision. He refuses to allow the salaries of NUPW staff to be deposited on their accounts. He says that he prefers to feel the cheque in his hand.

This takes me back to my beef about journalism. I cannot help thinking that on the announcement by the director and the issue of the public documents that decent journalists would have asked questions like:

When was the decision taken?

Can we get a copy of the resolution?

Was it a unanimous decision of the board?

Such questions sound simple but they can be revealing.

We now have on this blog a suggestion that the announced policy was not in fact a board decision. The anwers to questions 1 and 2 would have been helpful in this regard.

If there was evidence of dissenting board members they could have been sought for interviews.

OH well.

David

My scanner is not working.

Trained Economist

The second paragraph of the letter states:

“It is the policy of the National Insurance Board to provide a fast, safe and secure way of paying your pension. We would therefore like to start lodging your pension directly to your bank account as soon as possible”.

That gives me the impression that the Board had something to do with the decision.

Well their own internally generate annual report haven’t been posted online I can only hope that they can be source at the office and haven’t been done. All the bashing/denial from swelling of the civil service since the current government took office could be dealt quite easily with the reports. The only report currently online is 2007 own .