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May 13, 2014 Letters
DEAR EDITOR,
The Ministry of Labour, Human Services and Social Security notes with concern the sentiments expressed by Mr. Abel Seetaram of the Alliance for Change in a letter published by the Kaieteur News on May 9, 2014 regarding electricity subsidies for Old Age Pensioners.
The Ministry wishes to emphasise that Old Age Pension is given to all eligible Guyanese 65 years and older without discrimination and with the aim of assisting senior citizens. This is not a contributory scheme, but a form of assistance provided by the state to its senior citizens. In addition to the pension, Old Age Pensioners are given assistance to meet the cost of electricity and water charges.
It is important to note that the Government and the two utility companies have agreed to clear criteria for pensioners to benefit from these subsidies and to avoid exploitation of pensioners and the system.
In the case of the electricity subsidy of $30,000 per annum, which became effective May 1, 2014, and which was previously $20,000, the criteria were publicized by the Guyana Power and Light Company in the media. The main criterion is that the Old Age Pensioner must be a customer of the Guyana Power and Light Company, to become eligible to receive the subsidy. In 2013, Cabinet agreed that ownership of an electricity meter would be a criterion for pensioners’ entitlement to the Government electricity subsidy.
The Finance Minister in announcing the Electricity Assistance Programme during his Budget Presentation in 2013 stated that, “With effect from 2013, Government will make a contribution to help each Old Age Pensioner who is a customer of GPL, and meet the electricity charges they incur with that company…This assistance will reduce the electricity charges that will have to be met by each pensioner who is a GPL customer…”
During the implementation of the Electricity Assistance Programme in 2013, GPL found that many of the applicants could not qualify because they did not meet this criterion. Last year 7,283 pensioners applied for the electricity subsidy. Of these, 7,026 pensioners were eligible, while 257 pensioners did not qualify. The letter writer mentioned receiving complaints from Region Five pensioners. In Region Five, 653 pensioners applied for the subsidy last year, 619 of whom qualified and 34 of them were deemed ineligible to receive the subsidy.
The major reasons for disqualification were that:
1. The name on the GPL account did not match the name stated on the pensioners’ Old Age Pension Book;
2. Pensioners having inactive GPL accounts because the service was terminated and bills were not being generated for those persons; and
3. Some pensioners were not account holders of GPL meters.
In cases where the name on the GPL account did not match the name stated on the pensioners’ Old Age Pension Book, the pensioners were requested to support their application with an ‘Affidavit of Identity’.
The request by GPL that the meter be changed to the pensioner’s name is not a new development. This was always a criterion and pensioners can only benefit if the meter is in their name. While there are expenses associated with this change, it is important to note that these are one-off expenses that will allow the pensioners to receive the subsidy on an annual basis.
The Ministry also wishes to state that the Government has consistently sought to improve the lives of our senior citizens, and in this light, we are open to addressing any concern expressed by our pensioners. There are Probation and Social Security Officers who are assigned to the various regional offices and at the head office in Georgetown and they are tasked with addressing pensioners’ concerns.
Ministry of Labour, Human Services and Social Security
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