Children allowances: Gov’t uncovers 13,000 fake birth certificates linked to security officers.

Money the state loses through such faulty claims is said to be to the tune of billions annually. Among the uniformed personnel said to be involved in the scheme are retirees.

According to a communique made public August 22 by the Chief of Division for Communication and Public Relations in the Ministry of Finance, Yves Assala, government observed a marked increase in what was being paid out to beneficiaries as child allowances.

The Minister of Finance, Louis Paul Motaze, is said to have teamed up with the Minister of Defence and the General Delegation of National Security to conduct an audit on the issue.

The audit is said to have revealed that over a period of 10 years, from 2010 to 2021, the amount of money on this subhead, rather than declining as children of officers attain maturity, is rather on the increase.

As per the statutes in force, children of army personnel aged 16 and below, enjoy this allowance. For children of police personnel, their serving parents stop drawing benefits when the child reaches age of 20. After this age, payment of the benefit stops.

The recently released report indicates that over the years, birth certificates were never updated to reflect the actual age of beneficiary children. 

Officials said the burden became unbearable for the public treasury, thereby threatening the long-term sustainability of the entire pensions system.

Audit Report

According to the official press release, the audit report showed that among uniformed personnel who went on retirement and were enjoying this benefit over the 10-year period in review, 12,846 files had fake birth certificates, as certified by civil status registration centres that were indicated.

Out of this number, 4,300 police retirees were affected; while 3,842 soldiers and widows of deceased soldiers were also implicated. The discovery is said to be what pushed the Minister of Finance to take immediate action.

He ordered the suspension of further payments with effect from 29 July, 2024 but created avenues for affected officers to correct their irregularity.

An office to lodge complaints was opened at Block A, of the Ministry of Finance for affected officers and widows of deceased officers to deposit their complaints. 

The government specified that the affected retirees and or widows are required to furnish the office with valid birth certificates or other documents that could correct their irregularities.

Work done so far

The office opened for related complaints at MINFI reported to the Communication and Public Relations Division that it had so far received 110 files from retired officers affected by the audit for their payments to be reinstated.

Out of the number, 52 files have successfully been cleared and the payments reinstated with effect from the month of July, 2024. 

The remaining files, MINFI stated, are still being studied; with some of them calling for additional information to be furnished by affected persons.

The Ministry of Finance alerted that the period for these retirees to correct their situation will last until end of October 2024. It called on the affected should expedite action. It stressed that the action taken by government is meant to make sure that everything is done in a legal and transparent manner. 

The minister pleaded with the affected and the public in general, to stop throwing slangs at the action and seeing it as crude and brutal. 

The MINFI boss said the action is meant to ensure the sustainability of the state pensions system; fight fraud that continues to encumber public finances; build a climate of confidence and equity among the population. He also said the action is also to every Cameroonian gets what he or she deserves.

This story was first published in The Guardian Post issue No:3211 of Tuesday August 27, 2024