Our View: Welfare payments need stricter oversight

News media were collectively outraged by the report of the Audit Office about the general laxness at the deputy ministry of social welfare in the handling of applications for welfare payments. There were cases of people being paid the minimum guaranteed income (MGI) for years without submitting the required documents – they were given ‘temporary’ approval. There were also hundreds of people on disability benefits without receiving the necessary certification from the service that examined applications. Everyone reported the case of the man who was paid €102,528 in MGI from 2017 to 2024 without the examination of his application even being completed. When the examination was completed, it was found that he had submitted incorrect information about his income, and the authorities are now reclaiming the full amount. Whether it would ever be repaid is questionable. A woman was paid MGI amounting to €80,000 over a period of seven years without ever registering as unemployed, which was a requirement. There were other cases of welfare cheats fooling the authorities mentioned. A recipient of MGI was found to have had more than €500,000 in bank deposits and another with real estate valued at €800,000. Cheating happens, which is why the authorities need to be much stricter in handling applications. The deputy ministry said it has tightened procedures, with preliminary approvals (before all documentation has been provided) lasting a maximum of six months instead of several years as had been the case in the past. The Audit Office also highlighted that of some 5,000 recipients of disability benefits examined, about 10 per cent had not been green lighted by the relevant authority and payment was stopped. Interestingly, the government has increased its budget for disability benefits by €30 million this year, in a way, encouraging more people to apply for it. Was the increase justified or was it another vote-winning measure? The state has an obligation to offer support to the most vulnerable members of society and the MGI, introduced by the Anastasiades government, was a necessary social measure. It appears, however, that the authorities are lax in examining applications enabling cheats to claim benefits, while the ‘preliminary approval’ is something that is abused by people who might be ineligible for assistance. The examination of applications must be stricter and faster, because delays make cheating. It is up to the civil servants at the deputy ministry to improve their performance and speed up the processing of applications. If more people are required, they can be transferred from other government departments temporarily so that the backlog can be cleared and thus ensure the prompt processing of applications. This will make it much easier to identify the cheats.