The Auditor General's Office has instructed the National Social Protection Agency (NSPA) to recover USD1.2 million distributed to individuals ineligible for disability and single parent allowances.
According to the 2022 audit report of NSPA, USD1.2 million was distributed through the agency to individuals who were not eligible for state assistance. The audit report shows that the funds were provided as single parent allowance, disability allowance, and for therapeutic treatment to individuals who were not eligible.
As such, USD649,000 were distributed to those who were ineligible for the single parent allowance, while USD493,000 were unlawfully used to pay for therapeutic treatment. In addition, USD15,000 was improperly paid as financial assistance to persons with disabilities. The Audit Office has instructed NSPA to recover the funds.
Additionally, the report shows that of the funds owed to NSPA as of December 2022, USD33,000 sampled by the Audit Office were given in excess as financial assistance between 2015 and 2018. However, the agency had not recovered any of the funds as of August 16 last year.
The audit report stated that NSPA provided assistance or paid additional funds to those who were ineligible because there was no convenient arrangement to share information with the agency when the circumstances of the beneficiary changed or if the person passed away. It also stated that a recovery unit has been established in the agency to recover such funds, but the unit has only one employee and the work is not conducted adequately. Therefore, the Audit Office recommended strengthening the NSPA system to provide assistance such as single parent allowance, disability allowance, and support for therapeutic treatment.