Rampant benefits fraud unearthed; GOSI taking action
Published: Feb 28, 2011 23:12 Updated: Feb 28, 2011 23:12
ABHA: Following revelations that a significant number of people are committing benefits fraud, the General Organization for Social Insurance (GOSI) has announced that it is taking action by scrapping the names of such people from the list of social security beneficiaries.
The agency is also taking action against those illegally claiming these benefits by hiding information that would otherwise prevent them from securing benefits, according to a report in Al-Riyadh Arabic daily.
Some people used fraudulent means to get registered in benefits lists. The fraudulent activities were unearthed following the introduction of a computerized auditing program at the agency.
The newly introduced program updates the details of beneficiaries on a monthly basis. Concerned government departments, including the Passport Directorate, Department of Pensions, Civil Service and Labor departments have access to these details.
Prominent lawyer and member of the National Society for Human Rights Hadi Al-Yami said that the concept of social insurance emanated from a feeling of social responsibility and compassion toward weaker sections of society, including the sick, people with special needs, widows and orphans.
“This is a duty made obligatory by Islam on Muslim society, stating that all belonged to a single family where every member should strive to meet the needs of those who are incapacitated. This is part of the noble concepts of humanity and brotherhood advocated by Islam,” he said.
Al-Yami noted that the government of Saudi Arabia fully realizes this great responsibility toward the weaker sections of society.
“The government is implementing a series of welfare measures to improve the living conditions of these segments. This was more evident in the allocations in recent budgets,” he said, adding that the government allocated a total of SR120 billion in this year’s general budget.
According to Al-Yami, greed and selfishness have prompted several people to grab the benefits allocated to these weaker sections of society in an illegal and crooked way.
“They are stealing public wealth without having the least consideration and compassion toward this segment of society,” he said.
Osama Jaber, professor of social psychology at Najran University, said that a large number of people commit a violation of laws and adopt fraudulent means to claim benefits even if they do not actually need them.
“Psychologists are of the view that this behavior is the result of the faulty upbringing of such individuals when they are young. In every society, we can see fraudsters and tricksters,” he said.
“They are trying to earn something illegally for their personal gains, even though they are not actually in need of them. They are most often driven by selfish motives and greed as well as a craving for possessing something that they do not deserve.”
Comments
BARBARA
Mar 1, 2011 11:45
Report abuseAs the agency takes action against those illegally claiming the benefits of social insurance programs, I hope that results of this fraud are published on a regular basis to discourage others from attempting the same thing.
It is unfortunate that these fraudsters are stealing public wealth that has been budgeted for the needs of the weaker sections of society.
Unfortunately, every country that has social welfare programs also has a small portion of recipients that are fraudsters.