Karine Lalieux (PS), federal minister who supervises the CPAS, was summoned to explain, Thursday, in a plenary session of the Chamber, on the dysfunctions of the Anderlecht CPAS revealed Tuesday by the Pano program of the VRT. These dysfunctions are of two types: social allowances granted without prior control, partly because of the work overload of social workers; but also a clientelism almost assumed by the former president of the CPAS, the socialist Mustapha Akouz (PS), offering privileges to certain applicants.
Between clientelism, social fraud and poor management, the Anderlecht CPAS scandal highlights worrying practices
“We thought we had seen everything in the excesses and bad governance, but this report is edifying”scandalized Florence Reuter (MR).
“In Brussels, it can happen that a man or woman addresses the CPAS even though he or she does not vote PS or is not a friend of the president of the CPAS. If others are, [leurs dossiers] will be processed first and they will get thousands of euros. But, for the PS, this poses no problem”scathed Sammy Mahdi, deputy-president of the CD&V.
Karine Lalieux moves afterwards
For François De Smet (Challenge), “there is welfare shopping. And if the game is so widespread, it is because, sometimes, it works and cronyism remains a truth.”
The minister recognized that the dysfunctions at the Anderlecht CPAS had been known to her administration (the SPP Social Integration) since 2021 and had been the subject of a report in 2023. The deputies logically asked what she had undertaken to put an end to it.
In this matter, the political chain of command is largely in the hands of the socialists.
“The controls made it possible to identify shortcomings which led to reinforced control on an annual basisshe replied. I made the decision to go further: while the checks normally take place on the basis of a sample, I asked that the checks be systematic at the level of the Anderlecht CPAS. I also asked the SPP Social Integration to check whether other CPAS are encountering similar problems and, in this case, to strengthen controls.”
Contacted, the Lalieux cabinet specified that the minister took this initiative on Wednesday and communicated it to the administration on Thursday. The decision therefore follows the publication of the VRT report, despite the report from the SPP Social Integration dating back to 2023.
Paul Magnette defends his minister
In this matter, the political chain of command is largely in the hands of the socialists. The president of CPAS is a PS: Mustapha Akouz at the time of the events, Lotfi Mostefa today. The mayor of Anderlecht: a PS, Fabrice Cumps. The federal minister: again PS, Karine Lalieux. Only supervision of the Brussels Region falls to Écolo and Groen, with ministers Alain Maron and Elke Van den Brandt. But the role of this supervision is in particular to carry out checks on the functioning of the CPAS, which has been done.
Karine Lalieux nevertheless stressed that only the special office (or committee) of the CPAS, “where the majority and the opposition are represented”, East “empowered to make decisions” on the granting of social benefits. A way to wet the other parties. “There is no possibility of political interference.”for his part guaranteed Paul Magnette, deputy-president of the PS, because the special office of the CPAS rules collegially. “An agent said something stupid which creates confusion”he lamented.
The minister’s detailed hearing scheduled for next Wednesday in the House committee will perhaps reveal the state of involvement of other parties in the undue granting of social benefits to Anderlecht.
