In the meantime, the distribution of new Old Age Pension books is continuing and there has been an increase in the number of pensioners collecting books. This, the Minister says, may be due to the fact that payments have begun.

There has not been any major problem reported in the collection of monies by pensioners except in one case where one pensioner was relieved of his payment by bandits. In situations like this, the Minister is advising affected pensioners to make immediate reports to the Police, so that the authorities will be notified to “stop payment” on the stolen books. The pensioner can then apply for a new book.

Payments to Old Age pensioners and persons who qualify for public assistance began last Tuesday following an early release of funds by the Ministry of Finance.

Pensioners who have to collect backlog payments are advised to take along both 2001 and 2002 booklets in order to uplift their monies.

The distribution of new pension books began in January and is expected to continue until March, as the Ministry aims to improve the service being offered to pensioners and persons entitled to public assistance.

Although there were some hiccups with the introduction of the new system, it has been estimated that approximately 75 per cent of the books produced have been distributed.

The distribution of the new books comes in the wake of reports of discrepancies in the system resulting in many pensioners failing to receive their monies. This triggered intensive, ongoing investigations both by the Ministry and the Police.

Additionally, it is the plan of the Ministry to create a database, which will assist in erasing the many problems which hamper the delivery of pension books and payments.