The Georgetown Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI), one of Guyana’s leading business support organisations, has expressed “consternation and dissatisfaction” at the high level of inefficiency which they say is being exhibited in the operations of the National Insurance Scheme (NIS). The Chamber, in a public statement said that it continues to receive complaints from members of the business community, as well as individuals registered with NIS over the slow pace of conducting business with the agency, inefficiency in services, as well as NIS’s failure to transition to a digitised system that would allow for timely and convenient transactions.
The organization said that, “with countless complaints of the inability to contact the agency via the telephone numbers provided, the hassle involved in registering a company, and misplaced documents which result in applicants having to reapply, the entire procedure results in lost time for businesses.”
The Chamber continued that, “as one of the world’s most rapidly emerging economies and a nation with such heightened investment interest, it is appalling that businesses are facing delays in registration due to the bureaucratic procedures implemented by NIS. Coupled with the outcry of contributors over the slow pace of processing applications, poor record-keeping and delayed disbursements, there is an urgent need for a review of the feasibility of the systems being used by the agency, and the implementation of reforms to address the growing challenges with this organisation.”
GCCI said that, “the advancement of the business landscape in Guyana cannot continue to be impeded by incompetence and complacency.”
