So many cases of sleaze, misappropriation, corruption and fraud are being reported nowadays that people appear to believe, quite wrongly, that abuses are part and parcel of our national identity – not worth worrying about.
Abuses occur everywhere but it looks as if in Malta they are picking up faster than ever. And, no, this is not just a perception; it is stark reality, as the cases that are surfacing today show well enough.
A very fertile ground for abuses lies in the payment of the many forms of social benefits. People have lost count of the number of outrageous fraudulent claims made over the years. The latest shocking case concerns a serial fraudster who has collected €75,000 in social benefits he was not entitled to, quite a nice sum to plunder from the taxpayer.
From the information that has emerged so far, it looks as if the person who has managed to illegally squeeze so much in benefits out of the welfare system has made an art of defrauding the State.
The Benefit Fraud Investigation Department has traced the abuse back to 2006, the year the department was set up. While the department must be congratulated for the work it is doing to check abuses – and it is having a measure of success – it is difficult to understand how this particular fraudster has been able to outwit the State for so many years.
The perpetrator’s ingenuity appears to have no limits. Of course, this fraudster is not alone.
About €4 million worth of funds are misappropriated in this way every year. The government is allocating a huge amount of taxpayers’ money for the payment of social benefits annually. It has already spent more than €400 million so far this year.
Since the cost is likely to continue to rise, it is important for the government to ensure that benefits only go to those entitled to them.
In many cases, people keep receiving benefits even when the circumstances that made them eligible are no longer applicable.
One of the most common forms of abuse is drawing unemployment benefit even when one is gainfully occupied. Last year, for example, about 100 were struck off the unemployment register after they were found to be working. In all probability, these people would be working in the black economy, taking good earnings without paying income tax and, to boot, also receiving unemployment benefit.
Sick leave abuse is rampant too, with many wrongly believing that the sick leave entitlement is theirs for the taking, even when there is nothing wrong with them.
One report that was published had put the cost of sick leave at €37 million, a big part of which is undoubtedly attributable to abuse.
This had created quite a stir at the time it was made known. What steps were taken to check abuse? It is a well-known fact, for instance, that some doctors are apt to certify sickness lightly. Has the system been tightened? And, if so, what results have been achieved so far,if any?
Also, how much did the department manage to recoup following the amnesty given to those abusing the system, who could regularise their position by paying 15 per cent of the amount defrauded and, thus, avoid tougher action.
It is, of course, humanly impossible to eradicate fraud altogether, however, greater efficiency and diligence in handling claims submitted would help to curb abuse.