The Guyana Government is considering a new method of printing pension books as allegations of fraud have surfaced. Making this revelation was the country’s Vice President, Bharrat Jagdeo at a press conference at Freedom House on Thursday.
The VP said the Guyana Police Force (GPF) is looking into the matter as he emphasized the implications of such actions going unaddressed.
“My big fear was that if they draw down the money on someone’s book, then the pensioner who goes there would not get their money. So, the police are looking into this…And I expect that they would take condign action with anyone who is involved,” the VP said.
He disclosed that the Ministry of Finance is exploring a new feature on the books to protect against fraud.
“They would have to be almost embossed so that they would have additional security features that would be hard to replicate,” he said.
Dr Jagdeo pointed out that the old age pension will be increased to $41,000 per month, and this is already being taken into consideration for the printing of new books.
In September, the Human Services Ministry explained that the unauthorised books do not bear the security features and colours of the official books. It was emphasised that anyone found guilty of committing this fraud will face the full brunt of the law.
