Jesse Ramdeo
Members of the public have said they are at their wits end over the delays in accessing services at one of the National Insurance Board’s offices.
Concerned citizens have been reaching out to Guardian Media to vent their frustrations over the alleged obstructions in processing documents.
At the NIBTT’s Central office on Eleanor Street, in Chaguanas, citizens were seen queued under a tent yesterday, some reported waiting for hours.
A man, who spoke with Guardian Media off-camera, stressed that despite the NIBTT’s best efforts, the processing of claims must be more efficient.
He said “ For the past six months, I’ve been coming here, every time you come here they telling you it processing..its processing that is it. You retire now you can’t get your government benefits, you cant get your NIS benefits, but when to pay they taking it upfront, now when time to get pay is all kind of run around.”
Last month, the NIBTT advised that full walk-in services would resume on September 1st, allowing the public to access funeral grants, contribution statements, and benefit letters among other.
However, the organisation advised that claims submissions will continue on an appointment basis.
Another person suggested that staff can be better utilised to prevent the lengthy delays.
He said, “If it have a representative by the door, there are certain things that the people will be able to answer before even taking a number to sit down because they will be qualified to answer the questions right there at the door, it’s not everything you need to go inside for.”
Guardian Media visited the NIBTT’s office on Wrightson Road, Port-of-Spain as well as its head office on Cipriani Boulevard, but no lines or crowds were observed.
In a response, NIBTT stated that due to the pandemic, business operational decisions such as staff rostering and rotation were made which impacted service delivery.
It said as it moves towards enhancing technology, it is expected that response times will be improved