NIS to recover $5.6B Clico debt over 20 years

Government yesterday formalised a deal through which the National Insurance Scheme (NIS) will recover $5.6 billion which it had lost in 2009 through reckless investing by the now defunct Clico (Guyana) and taxpayers will have to foot the bill. General Manager of the National Insurance Scheme Doreen Nelson thanked the government for assisting the NIS to recover its investment in CLICO through the signing of a debenture for an aggregated value of $5,641,431, 475. Clico (Guyana) collapsed in 2009 after its parent company, CL Financial, had to be bailed out by the Trinidad government and its sister companies experienced grave financial problems. This agreement signed by Finance Minister Winston Jordan will see the scheme recovering the sum over a 20year period.

It is in keeping with Parliamentary Resolution 82 of 2009, which had called on the then PPP/C government to take “all possible actions to secure the investments made in Clico (Guyana) by the NIS on behalf of contributors and beneficiaries of the Scheme to prevent any consequential loss in benefits to them.”

wounded colleague, whose name was not released, sustained gunshot injuries to his left hand but was treated and discharged. The suspect, Kevin Stephens, of Middle Road, La Penitence, Georgetown, has been arrested.