Citizens’ Fund: First deposit of allowance on Dec. 21

The government will make the first deposit of monetary allowance for the beneficiaries of the Citizen’s Account Program on Dec. 21, it was announced.

This follows the approval of the policies of the program by the Council of Ministers on Tuesday.

The policies include details of the segments of the beneficiaries and the conditions for eligibility for the allowances.

Monetary allowance deposit is regarded as the first step in activating the support program under the Citizens’ Account.

The second installment of the support will be disbursed in January 2018. The list of eligible citizens and the details of the amount for each one of them will be published by 10th of every Gregorian month effective from next month.

The Citizens’ Account is the first government program of its kind in the country, covering all forms of support through a unified platform that ensures the efficiency of government support for the most deserving categories.

The program will be used to efficiently distribute funds through a unified electronic portal.

The cash-transfer initiative seeks to protect Saudi families from the direct and indirect impact of the government’s structural economic reforms by providing them direct monetary allowances.

The amounts of support will be reviewed quarterly to ensure that the benefit meets the requirements of the households.

The program’s policies stipulate that the eligible beneficiary should be a Saudi citizen, excluding the son and daughter of female citizen, non-Saudi husband married to a Saudi woman, non-Saudi wife married to a Saudi, and holders of transport cards. It also requires that the beneficiary should be a permanent resident in the Kingdom and not be an inmate in any of the government shelters or prisons, and that the disclosed data about beneficiaries should be consistent with the data available with the relevant authorities.

Cabinet approves plan for consumer protection

The Council of Ministers on Tuesday approved a consumer protection plan in view of the ongoing economic reforms.

Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman chaired the weekly session of the Cabinet at Al-Yamamah Palace in Riyadh.

Minister of Culture and Information Awwad Al-Awwad said the plan includes setting up a joint operations room of a number of government departments for the better protection of consumers during the upcoming period of economic reforms and proposing media plans in this respect.

In a statement to Saudi Press Agency following the session, Awwad said the Cabinet took this decision after reviewing an earlier decision of the Council of Economic and Development Affairs (CEDA) in this regard.

The Cabinet decided to establish a uniform contact center and electronic application called Bayyinah as well as conducting workshops and granting remuneration as an incentive to field observers.

The plan also stipulates carrying out campaigns to create awareness among consumers about their rights and highlighting the numbers of contact centers to lodge complaints.

The Cabinet hailed the world community’s unanimous rejection of US President Donald Trump’s decision to recognize Jerusalem as capital of Israel.

Al-Awwad said the Cabinet approved the Audiovisual Media Law. It also endorsed starting the gradual correction in the prices of some energy products.

It approved the regulations for the support being extended through the Citizen’s Account Program, and the comprehensive strategy for the mining and mineral industries sector.

Al-Awwad said the Cabinet, after reviewing the report of the minister of finance and recommendation of CEDA, approved the final accounts of the state for the five fiscal years from 2011 to 2015 (1430-31-1435-36H).