Editorial

People are quick to criticise an administration when in efforts to check abuses it causes delays in the payment of social benefits. Of course it is quite understandable to expect that those who are most in need of such assistance should receive special attention so that they will not suffer more than they have to in their particular circumstances.

But then it stands to reason that abuses ought to be checked all the time. Even if the government's finances were not in a bad shape as they are today, it would still be morally wrong to allow abuses of any kind in the payment of social benefits. When, then, the island is facing such a challenging task to reduce the deficit, it is doubly important to ensure that benefits are paid to those who are really in need of them.

People also abuse the state work registration system in order to get unemployment benefit they do not deserve. Withdrawal of medicine from state pharmacies when this is not needed is another abuse that ought to be checked. There are of course other forms of abuses, especially where the payment of tax is concerned, but what is under the microscope again now is abuse in the payment of children's allowances.

The matter came up for scrutiny when people began complaining of delays in the receipt of their allowance. The delay was attributed to what was diplomatically described by a social ministry spokesman as the full implementation of legal provisions which, he said, could not be ignored.

He was also reported as saying that there was now a benefits anti-fraud strategy aimed at ensuring that people received the amount they were due to avoid a situation whereby the government would have to claim refunds.

Well, this is all well and good. Surely, no one is going to go against the department for ensuring that the benefits go to those who are in need of them. However, having said this, it is most pertinent to ask if there is something wrong with the system. Should not this be an on-going process? Strange as it may sound, it does not seem that it is.

A similar exercise was carried out in May, 2001. In that investigation, no fewer than 10,470 applicants for the children's allowance failed to declare a total of Lm5 million in interest from bank deposits, representing undeclared bank deposits of Lm101 million.

In fact, according to the same investigation, 25 per cent of the individuals receiving children's allowance had undeclared income from bank deposits. The department had overpaid Lm470,515 in the cases investigated. The social welfare minister had then said that the figures had exposed the extent of the abuse and showed that the government was after "the big fish" and definitely not those having a low income.

The point was made then that the government planned to investigate cases where the undeclared income from interest exceeded Lm100. The question today is: Did the government actually catch the "big fish"?

When considering the millions of liri in taxpayers' money that go into the payment of children's allowances, it is only right on the government's part to ensure that the benefits go to those who need them most. But a general explanation of the situation would also be in order for taxpayers to learn what the department has been doing to check abuses.