S.S.B. C.E.O. Says No Request Was Received from M.O.H.
Today, Chief Executive Officer for the Social Security Board, Doctor Colin Young confirmed to the media that the Board did not receive any communication from the Ministry of Health, asking for grant funding through the N.H.I. fund. Doctor Young says that he heard of the purported request via media reports. The C.E.O. made it quite clear that the S.S.B. contributions are separate and apart from the NHI reserve fund. According to Doctor Young, if the Ministry of Health were to make such a request, that request would be dealt with by the Board which would then apply the legal requirements that are needed to even consider such a request.
Colin Young
Dr. Colin Young, C.E.O., S.S.B.
“To date the Social Security has not received any proposal, any applications, any request whatsoever from the Ministry of Health regarding the Medical Stores facility. We heard about that about the same time you did as it relates to that. I do want to make the point quite emphatically and we have spent two years doing this all over the country is that NHI is not Social Security ‘s contributors money. The funds of NHI annually are given via subventions to NHI and it is managed by the Social Security Board. Once the money arrives to the Social Security Board then it falls within the purview of the Social Security Board and it has to go through the process. One of the things that we have been hearing in the media especially in lieu of the recent increases in contributions is that S.S.B. is giving out grants. Nothing could be further from the truth. In fact if you look at section seventy four, eight of the NHI regulations it is very specific about the fact that the monies from NHI cannot be mixed or mingled with SSB’s funds and vice versa. And so we’ve maintained that but to answer your question again, we have not up to today gotten absolutely no kind of request from anybody regarding that.”
Hipolito Novelo
“So no monies have been dispersed, no contracts have been reviewed?”
Dr. Colin Young
“We have not even received anything so how can it be dispersed?”
Hipolito Novelo
“You don’t anticipate that the Ministry of Health would make that application now since the news broke?”
Dr. Colin Young
“Again, I can’t speak for them but I guess you saw also the guidance in the PM’s letter and as I said if they were to make such a request it will then have to go to our Board. Our board will have absolutely no option but to apply the legal requirement that are need to even consider such a request.”
