Muscat: Exempting all citizens whose monthly income is less than OMR 350 from the debts of the soft housing loan programme at the Ministry of Housing and Urban Planning was among the social protection initiatives approved by His Majesty Sultan Haitham Bin Tarik.
A statement issued online by Oman News Agency (ONA), said, "The package of social protection initiatives approved by His Majesty Sultan Haitham Bin Tarik are:
1 - Enhancing the amount of support provided to the programmes of the Ministry of Social Development related to handling insolvent cases.
2- Exempting all citizens whose monthly income is less than OMR 350 from the debts of the soft housing loan programme at the Ministry of Housing and Urban Planning.
3- Exempting all citizens benefiting from Sanad and Livelihoods/mawarid alrizq (former) programme from paying the unpaid amounts due from them.
4- Oman Development Bank provides financial facilities without interest and fees for self-employed workers, and includes: sales and mobile services, household chores, owners of taxis licensed to work in hotels and airports, women's projects, workers in the field of fishing, in accordance with the principles that will be announced by the bank.
5- The Small and Medium Enterprises Development Authority launches an emergency financing program for entrepreneurs holding a Riyada card, in accordance with the controls that will be announced by the authority.
6- Extending the period of disbursing the job security benefit for applications that fulfill the established conditions and permitting acceptance of applications late for the specified period until the end of this year 2021.
7- Expanding the list of basic food commodities that are subject to value-added tax at a rate of (0%) zero percent from (93) commodities to (488) food commodities.
8- That the government bears the cost of the value-added tax imposed on the electricity and water services for all citizens who own two accounts or less of the residential category, and this includes families that have been previously targeted with government support for the two services.
9- Increasing the amount of subsidized and consumed fuel by National Support Card holders from (200) litres to (400) litres per month and that the government bears the cost of the value-added tax for that amount so that it remains at the same subsidised price of 180 baisa per litre."
