New NIS office for Port Maria
PORT MARIA, St Mary – A new National Insurance Scheme (NIS) office will be built in Port Maria, St Mary, at a cost of $33.7 million.
Minister of Labour and Social Security Horace Dalley, ministry officials and representatives of Garan-tee Construction Company signed the contract for the commencement of work on the 6,183 square feet office, at the ministry’s North Street Offices in Kingston Tuesday.
Dalley said the construction of the office would be the first of four and was in keeping with the ministry’s objectives of modernising its operations as well as improving customer service.
“We believe customers ,especially pensioners who have paid their dues, must be provided with a comfortable environment to do business,” he said.
He said other offices would be built in the parishes of Clarendon, St Elizabeth and Portland. “We are investing in the infrastructure of the NIS,” he said.
The minister said money to construct the office would be taken from the National Insurance Fund (NIF), which is presently valued at $39 billion and is among the largest public funds in the country.
Meanwhile Member of Parliament for Central St Mary, Dr Morais Guy, in whose constituency the new NIS office is to be built, said the construction of the office was a welcome move and expressed the hope that it would provide employment for persons within the constituency.
“Our contractors can also rest assured that there will be no semblance of extortion here,” he told the signing ceremony. The 10-month project is expected to begin within the next two weeks.
