In the aim of the major reform of welfare benefits paid by the Ministry of Social Cohesion and Family through the OPECA said the minister Sophia Zacharakisin an interview with the newspaper “Proto Thema”.

The minister explains that by including assets – immovable and movable – in the process of selecting the beneficiaries, apart from the income data, an “honesty agreement” is sought with the citizen, so that the State supports those who are in real need.

“The profile of the beneficiary of allowances and vouchers, with luxurious houses, expensive jeeps and 300,000 deposits in the bank is not consistent with our goal, which is to support those in real need. The goal of the reform is transparency, fairness and respect for taxpayers’ money. It is an “honesty agreement” with the citizen. We want to identify the beneficiary who hides his income, while he has assets”, emphasizes Sofia Zaharaki.

“It is true that with the inclusion of assets criteria, with the increase in wages and the appearance of hidden incomes, two out of ten beneficiaries will lose the benefit but for the other eight there will be no changes. The prime minister’s order is that the funds that will be saved should be re-directed to the vulnerable, the vulnerable, the disabled, families with children, the uninsured elderly, as for example has already been launched with the emergency Christmas aid. In the drawer of the ministry and in the state coffers, not a single euro will return. In fact, the fund was increased by 70 million euros, so that the allowances will increase as we have already announced,” emphasized Sofia Zaharaki.

The Minister of Social Cohesion and Family specifies for the end of March the nationwide application of the prepaid card to welfare benefits, except for some such as disability benefits, “an action that also aims at transparency and limiting the black economy” as she pointed out.

The changes to the criteria and the amounts of the allowances will come into effect in January 2025.

Sofia Zaharaki also refers to the new programs of housing policy and energy upgrading, such as “Spiti my 2” (budget of 2 billion euros) and “Upgrading my house” (budget of 400 million euros).

“In January, the program “I upgrade my house” will start for the energy upgrade of homes. I believe that it is a program that will have a great response, as 20,000 beneficiaries will be given an interest-free loan without any income criteria” notes the minister.