Baitas explains disruptions to direct financial aid payments

Several direct aid beneficiary families claimed to have been deprived this month of the state’s direct social support, two months after distribution to vulnerable families began.

As April approaches and in the middle of Ramadan, some beneficiary families were taken by surprise by notifications on the platform dedicated to direct financial support, announcing the rejection of their application. This led to a feeling of exasperation and anger among the citizens concerned.

This refusal was justified by an increase in the index managed automatically by government authorities, leading to the exclusion of certain beneficiaries according to new criteria, including possession of a large gas cylinder.

This has led a number of impoverished families to lose their support, prompting them to question the presumed criteria that the beneficiary must meet. Their concerns were widely expressed on social networking platforms.

Questioned on this subject at the press conference following the Government Council meeting on Thursday, March 28, Executive spokesman Mustapha Baitas provided a few clarifications, notably that direct social support is in no way linked to compulsory health insurance (AMO).

“AMO is a social system whose conditions, actions and procedures have been defined by the legislator and the government. The same applies to direct support. It’s a legally integrated system, and the government has defined its conditions in decrees”, stressed the minister and government spokesman, adding that “there have been no revisions to the selection criteria ” and that these were ” isolated cases.”

Providing figures, Baitas indicated that 11.2 million citizens are now affiliated to the AMO, pointing out that for these 11.2 million people, the government covers the cost of joining the National Social Security Fund (CNSS). They benefit from public-sector health services free of charge, as well as private-sector medical services, like all salaried and self-employed workers, which means they currently enjoy full rights, he added.

Regarding direct support, Baitas revealed that 4 million families benefit from it and have been receiving regular financial support every month since the process was launched.

“This support has its own system and a decree that defines how to benefit from it, and what I want to emphasize is that this process is taking place under very favorable conditions”, he said, adding that Article 13 of Law 09.21 on social protection had been mentioned by the head of government in Parliament when announcing this major royal project.

Baitas also emphasized that ” the financing of this project was addressed in law 09.21, whether it be financing from the General Treasury, reform of the Compensation Fund, etc.”, before concluding that “today, the government can only welcome this direct support project and its impact on the vulnerable families who benefit from it”.