Muscat: Oman spends almost 127 million Omani riyals annually for financial subsidy given to needy families in the country, Shaikh Mohammed Bin Said Al Kalbani, Minister of Social Development, said.
Addressing the members of the Shura Council on Monday, the minister said that 83,214 benefits from the social security scheme offered by the government.
The figures were revealed for the first time.
The minister said that the Social Security Law is aimed at providing financial subsidy to needy individuals and families. He said that the categories covered by the social security law include the elderly as well as widowed, divorced, abandoned and unmarried women, as well as orphans, prisoners’ families and special categories.
He also pointed out that those covered by social security are also provided with job opportunities in private sector establishments. “The number of beneficiaries in 2012 stood at 320 including 228 from the social security families and 92 from the disabled,” he revealed to the 84 members of the elected advisory council.
Al Kalbani further said that among the facilities provided by the ministry for social security families is setting up projects aimed at finding income for the beneficiaries, which stood at 568 projects at the end of 2012 in the field of trade, services and production.
He also noted there were 23 centres nationwide to serve people with disabilities, and the number of beneficiaries so far is 2,173.
