Saudi orders disbursement of Ramadan aid to citizens

King Salman of Saudi Arabia has ordered disbursement of SR1.85 billion ($492.4 million) as “Ramadan aid” for social security beneficiaries.

While disclosing this on Monday May 11, 2020, a Saudi Press Agency reported that “The head of a family will be given SR1,000 and dependents will be given SR500.”

The decision was taken to cushion the economic effects of Covid-19 among citizens in the country.

It was reported that the coronavirus pandemic and the crash in oil prices have heavily impacted Saudi economy and public finances.

Meanwhile, the Kingdom had earlier announced measures to mitigate the economic impact of the coronavirus. The measures introduced included reduction in public expenditure by SR100 billion ($26.6 billion), raising of value added tax (VAT) to 15 percent, and suspension of cost of living allowance handouts.

A ministerial committee has also been set up to study all financial benefits paid to public sector employees and contractors and will submit its recommendations after 30 days.

Other measures previously taken by the government which directly impacted the income of nationals and residents included allowing private companies to reduce employees’ salaries by 40 percent, after meeting a set of requirements.

The government has also supported Saudi nationals, through the disbursement of approximately SR1.2 billion ($319 million) to more than 400,000 Saudi nationals working in private sector companies which were affected by the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.