Humaidan, in an interview with local newspapers, announces the unification of the date for disbursing government support to citizens, starting from February 2020AD

29-01-2020

In implementation of the order of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, Deputy Supreme Commander and First Deputy Prime Minister, to establish mechanisms that facilitate the disbursement of direct government support, and pursuant to the Cabinet’s decision at its session on Monday to unify the disbursement date for five support programmes provided by the Ministry of Labour and Social Development and the Ministry of Housing, His Excellency the Minister of Labour and Social Development, Mr Jameel bin Mohammed Ali Humaidan, announced that, in a first phase, support will be paid in a single instalment on one date, the 15th of each month, starting from February 2020, under the supervision of the Ministry of Labour and Social Development. The standard‑of‑living allowance for retirees is exempted by order of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, Deputy Supreme Commander and First Deputy Prime Minister, and will continue to be disbursed on its current date. His Excellency confirmed that the Ministry has initiated the administrative and technical measures necessary to implement the decision through an information system that leverages data integration with joint electronic systems, in collaboration with all relevant authorities. During a meeting with the local press on Wednesday at his office, and in the presence of the Assistant Undersecretary for Housing Policies and Services at the Ministry of Housing, Dr Khalid Abdulrahman Al Haidan, and the Director for the Government Systems Development directorate at the General Organisation for Social Insurance, Mr Elyas Yusuf Ahmed Abdulghaffar, His Excellency praised the Cabinet’s decision, which will enhance the efficiency and fairness of direct government support for eligible citizens. He stressed the Kingdom of Bahrain’s keenness to continue providing support to those entitled to it and to ensure timely disbursement through direct‑support programmes for citizens, namely social security, the disability allowance, financial support (cost‑of‑living allowance) for low‑income families, cash compensation in lieu of lifting meat subsidies, and a housing allowance for every citizen whose housing application has remained on waiting lists for five years, in addition to a living allowance for retirees. His Excellency noted that unifying the disbursement date will maximise beneficiaries’ ability to utilise the combined amounts of all support programmes simultaneously, enabling households to meet their obligations and family needs through a single payment on a date known to the citizen. He affirmed that citizens remain the focus of all government operations and that direct support will continue for all registered beneficiaries across the various programmes. In this context, His Excellency confirmed that eligibility criteria and the beneficiary database will remain unchanged. Eligible citizens will be able to view details of support amounts and disbursements via electronic services through the eGovernment portal at bahrain.bh, or by contacting the National Contact Centre on 80008001 for enquiries. Regarding the financial compensation in exchange for lifting meat subsidies, it will continue to be disbursed in instalments every three months, with the next instalment scheduled for 15 April, along with the remaining amounts due from other subsidy programmes. The previous instalment was disbursed in the first week of January 2020 for the months of January, February and March 2020.