Greece To Use Part Of Budget Surplus On Handouts To The Poor
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The Greek government is set to give out nearly 524 million euros in “social dividend” to those hit hardest by the past six years of recession, reported the Financial Times on Thursday, following an unexpected a surprise 1.5 billion euro budget surplus achieved last year.
The Greek government is set to give out nearly 524 million euros in “social dividend” to those hit hardest by the past six years of recession, reported the Financial Times on Thursday, following an unexpected a surprise 1.5 billion euro budget surplus achieved last year.
According to FT, Greece’s international lenders last week gave Athens the go-ahead to hand out the social dividend, after the surplus had been confirmed by the commission’s audit arm Eurostat.
About a third of the surplus will be used to pay down public debt, while some 60,000 low-earning members of the armed forces and security services will receive bonuses; and the rest will go into handouts for some 1 million low-income families, pensioners and long-term unemployed.
The FT speculated that Greece’s governing coalition is rushing to disburse the social dividend ahead of elections for the European parliament on May 25. For decades, FT writes, Greek governments have distributed thousands of public sector jobs in the run-up to an election.
“This is New Democracy’s way of trying to get people back on board for polling day,” said Neocosmos Tsimas, a 76-year-old former postal worker, referring to the centre-right party led by premier Antonis Samaras.
“I badly need the money because I’m behind with paying bills, but I may not bother going out to vote,” Tsimas added
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Civil society representatives say that the social dividend would have been better targeted if it were distributed by organisations working with vulnerable groups rather than the government.
“The cash payments are beneficial considering that almost one-third of the population is living in poverty, but they’re not going to reach vulnerable groups like the homeless or HIV positive who aren’t registered somewhere in the system,” said Epaminondas Farmakis, chief executive of Elpis, an Athens-based consultancy for philanthropists and donors.
“Getting 500 euros is good, but after it’s finished, then what?” added Tzanetos Antypas, director of Praksis, a non-government organisation, who urged the government to create something that is more “development-oriented and has continuity.”
