The Tribune

By YOURI KEMP

Tribune Business Reporter

ykemp@tribunemedia.net

A Cabinet minister yesterday rejected concerns that many Bimini residents had failed to receive their National Insurance Board (NIB) unemployment benefit prior to the island’s two-week lockdown.

Brensil Rolle, minister for the public service with responsibility for NIB, told reporters outside the Cabinet Office: “Many persons in Bimini have been paid. Perhaps persons were looking for advancement in pensions that we did, but we did that in March and April where we paid pensions early. Persons are looking for the same process this month, but we have gone back to the regular days to make sure we are able to pay.”

Neal Watson, owner of Neal Watson’s Bimini Scuba Centre, had told Tribune Business last week that none of his employees had received their NIB benefits despite all of their applications having been properly submitted.

However, Mr Rolle added: “We understand the sensitive nature of Bimini, and we did our best to make funds available to them as quickly as we can. There are one or two cases in Bimini we have not been able to resolve before the lockdown, but we are addressing them.”

Dr Nicola Virgil-Rolle, NIB’s director, told Tribune Business yesterday she was “unaware” of any issues involving the non-receipt of unemployment assistance by Biminites who had applied for it.

Revealing that NIB has now paid out benefits to around 30,000 persons so far as a result of the COVID-19 shutdown, Dr Rolle said the social security system was providing assistance to workers whose employees have failed to pay contributions on their behalf.

“There are some companies that owe NIB monies. We have taken the critical and legal position to pay their employees unemployment assistance, and then we will go after these companies to make sure they provide us with the appropriate amount of funds,” she said.

“We’re doing our best. We have made a commitment to make payments to the Bahamian people. I can’t say specifically what the outer bands will be, but I do know more than 30,000 have been paid by NIB and, as a consequence, I could clearly say more than 30,00 persons are unemployed at this time in The Bahamas. We have made payments to over 30,000 individuals, and we are processing another 5,000 to 6,000 this week that will be processed and paid this week.”

Brensil Rolle, meanwhile, said the economic fall-out from the COVID-19 pandemic means NIB is paying out $16m more per month in benefits than it would normally.

Uncertain whether NIB can sustain this level of payouts for a year, Mr Rolle said the social security system is taking it “one month at a time” as it has an obligation to provide individuals with unemployment assistance.

He added: “We are in unprecedented times. Our commitment is to persons that are unemployed. Yes, it is going to be a strain on NIB’s Board, I fully understand that, but I don’t see that we will not be able to make the payments at this time.”