Dear Editor,

The Accountant General’s Department should take full responsibility for denying 3,000 pensioners their payments in December, instead it is blaming pensioners who did not mail in their signed life certificates.

Does this office realise it is dealing with seniors, some who may be remote or incapacitated or may not have the help to get these forms completed and submitted quarterly?

We are also in the middle of a deadly pandemic. The office is in need of upgrading its services to improve efficiency. Dealing with Accountant General’s Department on matters such as pensions and other death benefits can be bureaucratic, cumbersome, and time-consuming.

I have made the call before to improve the concept of life certificates used to verify that a government pensioner is still alive. Currently these documents must be submitted quarterly. They must be verified by a justice of peace or designated official, using signature and stamp. I am sure the Accountant General’s Department does not have the time to verify the authenticity of each signature or stamp once these documents are received. These certificates must be mailed in, or delivered by hand. What if they get lost or delayed in the mail? Pensioners rely on their pensions.

Jamaica loses millions each year due to corruption in governance systems, we do not have to count pennies when it comes to pensioners.

Is this the best we can do for pensioners who are senior citizens? I believe there are other ways to verify a person is still alive; for instance, the tax registration number, which is on the certificate, could be tagged to death certificates and a routine system updates could verify those who have died since the most recent payment.

Another option is that the certificate could be requested annually or bi-annually. It must be costly to print and mail thousands of certificates every quarter, then process the batch of incoming documents, every quarter. There could also be some leniency if one certificate is missed within a period, instead of denying a payment.

Come on, Accountant General Jones, the system can be improved, your office will benefit greatly in better use of resources; so will the pensioners.

P Chin

chin_p@yahoo.com