In the Social Affairs Committee, MPs heard from the Minister of Social Integration, Karine Lalieux, this Wednesday morning on the affair concerning the CPAS of Anderlecht.
The Minister failed to convince MR federal MP Florence Reuter: “Even though there have been inspection reports, recommendations and reimbursements, that does not solve the underlying problem. It is the entire system of the CPAS of Anderlecht that is dysfunctional, this whole culture of fear that social workers are subjected to, this blatant clientelism... A system whose main actors, namely the former and current chairs, also refuse to come and explain themselves to Parliament! We cannot be satisfied with Minister Lalieux's response, when she could at least use her influence as a socialist office-holder to encourage her party colleagues to testify before the committee.”
For the liberal MP, if the Brussels labour prosecutor's office is doing its job by opening an investigation into possible fraud in the granting of benefits by the CPAS of Anderlecht, it is not normal that Parliament cannot do its own by not having access to all the elements of this case. The MR group requested, during the session, to be able to hear the main people responsible for these dysfunctions.
As a reminder, last week a lengthy VRT report exposed widespread residency fraud in Anderlecht, where the CPAS granted thousands of euros in integration income to people who were not entitled to it.