RIYADH: Saudi Arabia authorities started releasing financial assistance on Saturday to the Saudi unemployed from the SR1.11 billion earmarked for that purpose.
According to Hafiz program, the first batch of 555 unemployed Saudis will get SR2,000 monthly after fulfilling the requirements online last year.
The program is a bold step taken by the Saudi government to exploit all avenues for the welfare of its people, including financial assistance to this sector of population.
King Abdullah's recent announcement on Saudi 2011 fiscal budget included the use of 25 billion carry-over from last year's budget for building houses for deserving Saudis.
Ibrahim Al-Meaiqil, the director of Human Resources Development Fund (HRDF), said that there were 145,000 Saudis (both male and female) who would qualify for the assistance. They needed to complete submitting their data however and were asked recently for their permanent income affidavit and bank account.
The authorities set Jan. 9 as the deadline to amend the data that would allow the program to include their names in the second batch payment to be released on Jan. 29.
Al-Meaiqil will shed more light on the assistance program at a press conference on Sunday.
More than 2 million people, according to HRDF director have applied for the Hafiz allowance. A total of 700,000 people currently qualify for assistance, 70 percent of whom women. They will receive a payment of SR2,000 a month for one year.
In his latest announcement, the Ministry of Labor said that it will give maximum priority to the employment of the disabled Saudi men and women within a strategic plan aimed at securing jobs for all Saudis especially disabled citizens.
He also noted in his previous statement that those who did not qualify for the government's SR2,000 a month unemployment allowance would get skills-training paid for by the state.
Informed sources from the ministry said Wednesday that the first phase of the strategic plan would be executed over four months starting January with the second phase taking 12 months.
They said a guidance council and another executive one would be set up under minister Adel Fakeih to oversee the implementation of the plan with a view to ensuring the disabled with the best of services.
According to statistics, there are thousands of citizens over 40 years old who can be considered unemployed as they have been unable to find work for many years.
The HRDF director said more than 2 million people have applied for the Hafiz allowance. A total of 700,000 people currently qualify for assistance, 70 percent of whom are women. They will receive a payment of SR2,000 a month for one year.
"About 80 percent of applicants qualified for the allowance are women," said Meaiqil. "We have informed all applicants through SMS to follow the result of their applications on the website," he said.
© Arab News 2012
