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The examination of around 2.500 complaints completed in 2020 by the office of Commissioner for Administration and Human Rights Protection Maria Stylianou Lottidis.Speaking before the Parliamentary Committee on Institutions on her annual report for 2020, she said that most of the complaints relate to benefits and staff relations and that there are assurances from officials that delays will be eliminated with the operation of the new State Ministry of Social Welfare.
The Commissioner for Administration and Human Rights Protection, after referring to the Commissioner's powers, as well as the National Human Rights Authority, said before the Institutions Committee that through its powers, the Commissioner for Administration has the ability to intervene where there is maladministration.
He noted that certainly the pandemic was the focus of a number of their interventions, including on issues from schools, from persons with disabilities, from children with disabilities, from maternity issues, among others.
With regard to complaints, the Commissioner of Administration said that "in recent years we have been at the same levels", noting that what always leads the way in terms of complaints is benefits and civil service.
According to the report, the number of complaints relating to social security, which relate to the provision of financial support to workers due to the suspension of work as a result of the pandemic, remains high. There also remains a high number of complaints about social benefits related to the provision of the Minimum Guaranteed Income and/or allowances and grants.
A high percentage of complaints also relate to civil service, i.e. related to complaints from teachers or members of the hourly staff or employees of local authorities, while the percentage of complaints relating to real estate remains at a high level.
The number of complaints which are examined under the authority of the Commissioner as the Independent Mechanism for Promoting Protection and Monitoring the Implementation of the United Nations Convention on Persons with Disabilities remains high.
According to the Report, the Commissioner, as an Equality and Anti-Discrimination Body receives complaints related, inter alia, to allegations of gender discrimination, bullying, harassment, discrimination on grounds of national origin, etc.
As stated in the report, the total number of complaints to be processed in 2020 was 5.338, of which 2,551 complaints were submitted in 2020, 2,767 complaints were pending from previous years and for 20 complaints that were handled, the complainant(s) returned
Of the 5,338 complaints to be handled, during 2020, 2.501 complaints, with a monthly average of 208 complaints handled.
Of the 156 Reports/Investigations of the Commissioner during 2020, there was compliance in 66 of them, i.e. the compliance rate was 42.3%.
Of the 156 Reports/Investigations of the Commissioner during 2020, there was compliance in 66 of them, i.e. the compliance rate was 42.3%.
In addition, in 629 cases there was compliance following the Commissioner's intervention, without the need to submit a report, while 600 complaints, after being examined, were found not to fall within the Commissioner's competence and the complainants were informed accordingly.
Asked by MPs about the possibility of violation of the human rights of the beneficiaries, she replied that there was no question of denial of the State's obligation but of delays.
She noted that there are assurances that with the functioning of the new State Ministry of Social Welfare, delays will be addressed and eliminated.
The Commissioner of Administration also indicated before the Institutional Committee that the main role of the Commissioner of Administration is mediation.
So, she continued, if their success is with the first mediation there is satisfaction of the complainant , for the Commissioner's Office it is a great success because it means that there is rapid intervention and satisfaction and they do not have to go to the next step which is either the letter of recommendations or their last step which is the reports.
In a statement after the meeting, the Chairman of the Parliamentary Committee on Institutions Dimitris Demetriou said that "it is with pleasure that we read and also reported from the Commissioner on the compliance of the State agencies to her reports and to her recommendations."
But, he added, "it is also with great pleasure to hear that the strong majority of complaints that come to the Office of the Commissioner of Administration are handled with a promptness and efficiency by the Office of the Commissioner of Administration."
"We have also said today that we will study the report of the Commissioner of Administration individually and we will have frequent meetings on that report so that we can see how we are effectively and efficiently working as the Institutions, Values and Governance Commissioner to implement all that is recorded in her reports," he added.
Asked that most of the complaints relate to benefits and pension arrears, Demetriou said it is an issue that was also considered two weeks ago at the Labour Committee, and there in the presence of the Director General of the Ministry "we have been told that it is being implemented and indeed in the past few days some benefits have now been computerised, and we should understand the following from everybody in this country: That without computerization, without digital governance, these response times of the state will not improve drastically."
"And another thing, it's not just the time that will be reduced in submitting the application," he said. The paperwork, he added, "that will be reduced is what information the citizen will have between now and the day of approval. To know with an email that it has been received, that the examination will start , that it has been examined, that it has been approved or rejected or that it needs to attach another document."
"And it is the least we can do as a welfare state, for our citizens. To be a state of solidarity, with social sensitivity that pays benefits and pensions at the time when citizens need them," Demetriou said.
AKEL MP Andreas Pasiourtides said in a statement that "some of the problems that have plagued society in recent years not only persist, but have become bigger."
"Classic examples are the payment of benefits, pensions, whether it is the minimum guaranteed income or the small cheque or unemployment benefits," he noted.
As he said, delaying as a state to pay benefits, which the person applying for them is in immediate need, since they are related to his daily survival, in essence undermines the very institution that you yourself are called upon to approve.
As he said, delaying as a state to pay benefits, which the person applying for them needs immediately, since they are related to his daily survival, in essence undermines the very institution that you yourself are called upon to approve.
"We call once again on the state machinery and the government to take the necessary measures to get away from time-consuming procedures, to make it easier for people to receive what they are entitled to in a short period of time," he added.
According to Mr. Pasiourtidis "it is a social issue which in many cases creates a problem in the daily living of citizens and we consider it unacceptable that anyone should have to turn to the Commissioner of Administration either to have any civil servant or official answer the phone to inform them of the status of their case or to complain about weaknesses and errors of the state machinery."
Source: CNA
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