00:00The National Insurance Board is a 54-year-old organization serving over 230,000 long-term
00:08beneficiaries monthly. It is facing mounting scrutiny over its performance and sustainability.
00:15Chairman of the Joint Select Committee of Parliament, Dr. Marlene Adz, says public frustration
00:20is growing. The ombudsman reports for 2022 and 2023 highlight this clearly that the NIB recorded
00:29the highest number of complaints among public bodies and the senior officials were summoned
00:35on multiple occasions to address administrative and service delivery issues. Amid global concerns
00:42about the long-term viability of national insurance systems, questions were raised about the financial
00:48health of the fund. Executive Director Niala Pisad-Pulaya confirmed that payouts are exceeding
00:55contributions. Our benefit payments for the year ended June 2025. We paid out $6.6 billion in
01:03benefits. We collected just over $5 billion in benefits. Naturally, there's a shortfall which
01:12we would of course use our investment income and other incomes to support. Meanwhile, pressure is
01:18also mounting on the National Insurance Appeals Tribunal where a backlog of cases is affecting
01:23vulnerable citizens. Chairman Michelle Carrington says the system is struggling to keep up.
01:29Certainly, it's going to have an impact on the tribunal because as you see, we have a rolling
01:33backlog and the tribunal, while it is functional, we certainly do not have the capacity to treat with the
01:45number of appeals that come in, at least to me, in an efficient manner. Because you're looking, as you said,
01:51disadvantaged persons who need their money. And I repeatedly say at hearings, we have a number of
01:55persons dying waiting to have claims settled. The committee also heard that 30 percent of delays
02:01at the tribunal are being compounded by missing files and 20 percent by difficulties contacting
02:07next of kin, with some cases adjourned for those reasons. And concerns were raised over administrative
02:14requirements, including the need for valid identification to access funeral grants.
02:20For some reason, the funeral home can come, they fill out the relevant documentation, the person is in fact dead,
02:28the person is going to be buried by the funeral home, and yet the check is cut. And it's not
02:33cut to the person,
02:34obviously, the deceased relative, but it's cut to the funeral home. So there's an exception that is being made for
02:41certain funeral homes in this country. But when the deceased person who comes, they have an arrangement
02:48of the funeral home, they may not be as tethered to the funeral home as others. They are dispossessed and
02:55disenfranchised and disadvantaged, as opposed to the person who has a relationship with the funeral home.
03:00And I'm not asking you, I'm telling you. The NIB says it processes some 42,000 claims annually,
03:07saving an insured base of 600,000 people. But with rising complaints, financial pressures,
03:14and administrative challenges, the committee learned that digitization reforms are underway
03:20to restore public confidence in the system.
03:23Ravishita Wari Rupnarein, TV6 News.
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