By Lynford Simpson,
Staff Reporter
THE MINISTRY of Labour and Social Security is seeking to recover about $20 million owed to the National Insurance Scheme (NIS) by more than 500 delinquent employers across the island.
Parliament's Public Accounts Committee (PAC) was told yesterday the amount was discovered after compliance statements from four parish offices visited revealed 543 employers had come up short.
The Permanent Secretary in the Ministry, Tony Irons, told PAC chairman Audley Shaw $6 million had been recovered from 28 employers while court action initiated against 95 individuals/organisations since last September resulted in the recovery of an additional $3.9 million.
Mr. Irons said compliance officers were now in the field trying to recover the remaining sum. Failure to do so would result in court action against the delinquent employers.
"My understanding is that in the vast majority of cases, they (the employers) have actually made the deductions from their employees," Mr. Irons said in answer to a question from committee member, Jennifer Edwards.
Meanwhile, in the area of investments, the NIS is yet to receive share certificates from five stock brokers for 873,710 units purchased between August 1992 and October 1996 at a cost of $5 million. Two of the stock brokers have reportedly gone into liquidation and another is no longer operating.
According to the findings of Auditor General Adrian Strachan, there was no evidence that about $2.35 million had been paid over to the fund by a stock broker for sale of 76,209 shares
Three of the companies mentioned were Buck Security Brokers Ltd, First Cumberland Jamaica Stockbrokers Ltd, and Prudential Stockbrokers Ltd. In the case of Prudential, nearly $400,000 has been paid over, with a balance of $500,000. Mr. Irons said the full amount was expected from Buck Security as the claim was below the $500,000 ceiling. In the case of Prudential, the company's assets had not yet been sold.
There are about 700,000 contributors to the NIS fund which has a balance of J$16 billion. It has a main account and 11 benefit accounts. Monthly contributions stand at $200 million.
