March 2, 2018
Public Services and National Insurance Minister Brensil Rolle.
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NIB considers extension as pandemic benefits reach $100m
The National Insurance Board (NIB) has paid out over $100m in pandemic unemployment benefits thus far and a decision on whether payments will continue will happen by the end of September.
$500m spent to support Bahamians
MORE than $500m has been spent by the government to assist ordinary Bahamians affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, Public Service and National Insurance Minister Brensil Rolle said yesterday.
Cut public sector? Actually we hired 2,400
THE Minnis administration, which came to power promising to right-size the civil service after the Christie administration hired scores of people, has made at least 2,402 people permanent members of the civil service and has promoted more than 1,600 people throughout government since taking office.
Rolle: No problem over hiring of minister’s wife
MINISTER of Public Services Brensil Rolle said yesterday there was nothing untoward about the process which led to the hiring of the wife of Kwasi Thompson, the State Minister of Finance, to a senior role at the National Insurance Board in Grand Bahama.
Jobless benefits to strike $230m
A Cabinet minister yesterday said the National Insurance Board (NIB) and government have spent a combined $230m on unemployment and income support during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Civil service jobs will remain safe
THE government does not plan to send public servants home to reduce public expenditure given the economic fallout from the pandemic, Public Service and National Insurance Minister Brensil Rolle said.
New director for NIB to take office ‘shortly’
THE government has officially selected a new director for the National Insurance Board who is expected to “take office shortly”, according to NIB Minister Brensil Rolle.
INSIGHT: So Minister, the PM doesn’t want drilling - what’s your personal view?
Despite cries from environmentalists Bahamas Petroleum Company has pressed ahead with its oil excavation in Bahamian waters, confident its operations are covered by an iron-clad agreement which now leaves the Government and people of The Bahamas with no say.
NIB rate hikes 'always in play'
A Cabinet minister yesterday said the Government was mulling whether to implement National Insurance Board (NIB) rate increases that have long been put off.
Can we bite NIB bullet? ‘Bold decision’ needed - raise contributions to sustain cash assistance
NATIONAL Insurance Minister Brensil Rolle yesterday admitted that no government has been “bold enough” to take on recommendations that National Insurance Board contributions must increase to sustain the financial viability of the social security net.
Payments being made after delay in unemployment
AFTER a delay in the disbursement of unemployment benefits from the National Insurance Board, Minister for National Insurance Brensil Rolle confirmed to The Tribune that funds are now available and payments are being made.
Up to $10m needed to extend unemployment aid
AN additional $4m to $10m is needed to extend the government’s unemployment benefit assistance through January 2021, National Insurance Board Minister Brensil Rolle revealed yesterday.
WAITING GAME FOR DESPERATE FAMILIES: Govt holds off a decision on whether aid schemes will extend into new year
THE government has not yet decided whether it will further extend its COVID-19 support initiatives – including the unemployment benefits programme – beyond the December deadline, according to Public Service Minister Brensil Rolle.
NIB director resigns to take ‘more stable’ role
NATIONAL Insurance Board Minister Brensil Rolle admitted yesterday that he did not take Nicola Virgill-Rolle seriously when she revealed in a conversation last Wednesday that she was considering resigning after more than two years as NIB’s director.
Minister blames Baha Mar over benefits delay
A Cabinet minister last night blamed Baha Mar for the hold-up that has resulted in hundreds of its furloughed employees not receiving due unemployment benefits for up to four weeks.
As money is cut, NIB ‘doing best we can’
Public Service and National Insurance Board Minister Brensil Rolle defended a reduction in unemployment benefits to $100 a week yesterday, insisting “We’re doing the best we can.”
Almost $150m spent on unemployment benefits
The Government and National Insurance Board (NIB) have to-date collectively spent almost $150m on supporting jobless Bahamians through COVID-19, a Cabinet minister said yesterday.
NIB fraud warning: Pay it all back
NATIONAL Insurance Minister Brensil Rolle yesterday issued a warning to all unqualified individuals who may have received unemployment assistance cheques from the agency, urging them to return the payments as NIB officials “are looking extensively” at all transactions made by employees. His warning comes amid an ongoing theft investigation at one of NIB’s branches.
Rolle defends NIB's payment operations
NATIONAL Insurance Board Minister Brensil Rolle has defended operations at NIB’s cheque distribution centre, saying while there were some challenges with the process, officials were still able to dole out a "significant number" of payments.
NIB striving to resolve all payment problems
AMID concerns over lengthy delays in receiving unemployment payments, National Insurance Board Minister Brensil Rolle said officials are working to resolve all issues to ensure workers receive their contributions. He insisted that “anyone who is entitled” to NIB benefits will receive them.
NIB has helped 30,000 people so far - Rolle
ABOUT 30,000 people have received unemployment assistance from the National Insurance Board amid the COVID-19 pandemic, according to Public Service Minister Brensil Rolle, who added that officials will be making additional payments to 6,000 affected
30,000 apply for NIB assistance
THE National Insurance Board has paid out more than $5m in unemployment benefits to workers impacted by the coronavirus pandemic, NIB officials said yesterday.
NIB faces demands of $16m per month
THE National Insurance Board will have to brace for a massive drawdown on its financial resources of at least an additional $16 million per month.
NIB facing three times' its annual claims volumes
The National Insurance Board (NIB) has just days to process three times’ the number of benefits claims it receives in a typical year due to the COVID-19 crisis, a Cabinet minister said yesterday. Brensil Rolle, minister of the public service and nat
Pandemic to expose NIB delinquents
The COVID-19 pandemic will “expose” Bahamian employers who have failed to pay National Insurance Board (NIB) contributions on behalf of their workers, a Cabinet minister warned yesterday. Brensil Rolle, minister for the public service who has respon
17,000: HELP US . . . And that doesn’t include NIB claims from hotel workers
THE National Insurance Board has received around 17,000 applications for unemployment benefits due to the coronavirus pandemic, Public Service and National Insurance Minister Brensil Rolle said yesterday.
Govt may expand temporary jobless benefit scheme
MINISTER of Public Service and National Insurance Board Brensil Rolle suggested the government could expand its temporary unemployment benefit assistance to include people not in the tourism industry who have been affected by actions taken to prevent spread of the coronavirus.
NIB worker sacked after payout audit
AN internal investigation is underway at the National Insurance Board after an employee was terminated for allegedly wrongly signing contribution forms and accepting “tips” for tasks he was not authorised to do, The Tribune was told yesterday.
NIB rate may rise to cover deficits
THE government has not yet made a decision on whether National Insurance Board contribution rates will increase, Public Service and National Insurance Minister Brensil Rolle said yesterday.
Rolle confident NIB has enough resources to meet commitments
DESPITE mounting pressure on the National Insurance Fund brought on by the passing of Hurricane Dorian, Public Service and National Insurance Minister Brensil Rolle said the National Insurance Board has sufficient resources to meet its commitments.
$460,000 paid out in benefits
THE National Insurance Board has paid out more than $460,000 in unemployment benefits to Abaco and Grand Bahama Hurricane Dorian victims. According to Public Service Minister Brensil Rolle, who has responsibility for NIB, 1,699 unemployment claims w
495 unemployment claims after Hurricane Dorian
THE National Insurance Board has processed 495 unemployment claims related to Hurricane Dorian, according to Brensil Rolle, minister of public service with responsibility for NIB. In the House of Assembly yesterday, he said NIB and the Department of
NIB working to help verify identification
WITH thousands of hurricane victims having to relocate to Nassau following Hurricane Dorian, the National Insurance Board is working with the Registrar General’s Office to verify lost forms of identification. This partnership, according to National
Rolle: NIB serious about collecting missing $17m
THE National Insurance Board is serious about collecting $17m in outstanding contributions, Public Service Minister Brensil Rolle said yesterday, revealing some employers have gone before the courts for committing the offence. Although he could not
Post office deal ‘all above board’
A KEY Cabinet minister yesterday told The Tribune the government followed every protocol in leasing the Town Centre Mall from a sitting Cabinet minister to relocate the General Post Office.
Govt renews its 52-week job programme
HUNDREDS of participants of the government’s National Job Creation and Skills Enhancement Programme have been re-engaged for the second year of the employment initiative which begins on Monday, Minister of Public Service and National Insurance Brensi
We'll prosecute non-payers, says NIB chief Rolle
DELINQUENT employers who owe the National Insurance Board up to $17m in contributions “just ignored” pay agreements and commitments, according to Public Service Minister Brensil Rolle.
Employers warned over $17m NIB debt
NON-COMPLIANT employers failing to pay workers’ National Insurance Board contributions owe the board up to $17m, Public Service Minister Brensil Rolle said yesterday, as he warned time might be running out for these offenders.
1,600 back on public payroll
DESPITE the Minnis administration’s criticism of the previous government’s hiring practices, there are plans to allocate $8m for new hires in the upcoming fiscal year in addition to the 1,600 people re-engaged since 2017.
Crunch time for NIB on payouts
CRITICAL decisions will have to be made regarding the National Insurance Board and the administration of contributions it collects to ensure there remains longevity of the social security net’s benefits, according to a Cabinet minister yesterday.
Mitchell wants whole truth on rehiring by government
PROGRESSIVE Liberal Party Chairman Fred Mitchell says Public Services Minister Brensil Rolle has not told the whole truth about the government’s rehiring processes.
‘Let go’ workers back on payroll
DESPITE criticising the former Christie administration last year for adding 9,000 people to the government payroll during its term in office, Public Service Minister Brensil Rolle revealed yesterday a “large number” of those hired from 2012 to 2017 have been re-engaged.
NIB to investigate non-payment claims
Minister of the Public Service and National Insurance Brensil Rolle has promised investigations will be conducted into claims some Freeport employers have deducted but failed to pay to NIB contributions on behalf of their employees.
Rolle defends ‘easy target’ of civil servants after criticism
PUBLIC Service Minister Brensil Rolle defended civil servants against critiques while also underscoring the Minnis administration’s commitment to improving the public service sector after Cabinet Secretary Camille Johnson was quoted in a recent Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) report calling some key workers “weak”.
Work programme to help build skills of youth
ADDRESSING the issue of unemployment among the nation’s youth, Minister of the Public Service and National Insurance Brensil Rolle announced that the government introduced a restructured employment programme this week in which participants will recei
Builder sues over lost $20m contract
HOLIDAY Industrial Builders is suing the government for terminating its $20m contract to construct a complex on John F Kennedy drive to house the Ministry of National Security, according to Public Services and National Insurance Minister Brensil Rolle.
Rolle warns NIB contributions may rise in future
NATIONAL Insurance Minister Brensil Rolle yesterday suggested officials will have to make a judgement call at some point on whether to increase National Insurance Board contributions as the government struggles to balance a “tremendous” increase in b
In uniform? First in line for cheap house plots
LOTS in Sunset Close and Fox Hill worth $30,000 or less will officially go on sale in June or July, Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis announced yesterday, adding that the lots will be available only to police officers, immigration officers, customs officers, defence force officers, prison officers and teachers in the first wave.
PLP added 9,000 jobs to payroll
AN estimated 70 per cent of the contracts awarded to persons for government employment under the Christie administration did not go through the Ministry of the Public Service, Garden Hills MP Brensil Rolle said yesterday.
More than 130,000 NIB contributions not processed
MINSTER of the Public Service and National Insurance Brensil Rolle yesterday revealed the National Insurance Board has not processed 133,130 contributions, suggesting thousands of Bahamians could not access benefits as a result of poor management und
Minister responds to concerns of Corrections Services officers
PUBLIC Services Minister Brensil Rolle has responded to claims that Department of Correctional Services officers are not receiving their pensions, their permanent and pensionable letters, nor are they being promoted. Last Friday, Bahamas Prison Staf
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