Roger Derikx from Nieuw-Venneps, a victim of the benefits affair, recognizes himself in the conclusions of the parliamentary inquiry committee on Fraud Policy. Derikx reads every report about the scandal from beginning to end. It does not surprise him that the government is still blind to people and their rights. He finds the report ‘beautifully worded’.
“It is a tough report, as have been written in recent years,” says Roger Derikx from Nieuw-Vennep. He is quite satisfied with how the committee has chosen certain terms and words: “Especially the part about the government being ‘blind’.” He certainly recognizes the picture that the committee is now painting.
The report shows that the benefits affair, involving thousands of parents who childcare allowance were wrongly labeled as fraudsters, could easily happen again.
After the benefits affair came to light, an extra ‘state layer’ was added to the system, the Implementation Organization for Recovery Benefits (UHT). They should provide additional control when addressing this problem. However, Derikx does not think that the solution should lie with the government.
Lasting distrust
“It takes courageous people to bring about change,” says Derikx. By courageous people he means the (Equal) Worthy Recovery initiative, which was founded by affected parents. The organization is committed to helping everyone who has been affected by the benefits affair and is committed to restoring trust between benefit parents and the government.
Derikx’s confidence has certainly not yet been restored, despite the report. A solution seems far away, because mutual trust between the officials involved and the benefit parents has broken down.
According to Derikx, (Equal) Worthy Recovery should be given a larger role to help parents, and the government should have a smaller role. “The government must take pause,” the inquiry committee’s report also concludes.
The media as a ‘parrot circuit’
The report of the committee of inquiry calls the media a ‘parrot circuit’. According to the committee, the media copied each other and the subject quickly turned into a ‘media hype’.
“When you, as a citizen, stand with your back against the wall, you look for people who want to listen, whether that is politics or the media,” says Derikx. “But we noticed that stories were being chased.” Derikx believes that the victims were used as ‘puppets’ for stories. “We deserve a thorough investigation and I missed that in the press.”
For Derikx, the report is the same as all other reports, ‘but with a great degree of urgency to find a decent solution now’.