Benefits for aged with working children should stay, says Oman's Shura Council

Muscat: Citizens receiving social benefits and whose children are employed should not have their benefits cut, said Hamood bin Ahmed Al Yahyai, head of the Social Development Committee at the Shura Council.
The Committee recently discussed the issue of social benefits with the Ministry of Social Development. Al Yahyai said even in the current financial economic situation, the issue of social benefits should be the last one to be affected.
“We don’t want to cut their benefits, since the son who works bears the responsibility for the entire family.”
When asked if the current economic situation and the low oil prices, warranted a cut in social benefits, Al Yahyai said social benefits only comprised a small part of the budget.
“Social benefits only comprise around half a per cent of the budget. While the budget is OMR14 billion, the budget for social benefits is only OMR130 million. If the budget will be cut, this issue should not be touched. It will be the last solution,” he stated.
He also said the World Bank is studying the Omani system of social benefits. “We are waiting for the World Bank to finish its study before we cut anything.”
Commenting on the importance of retaining the benefits, he said anyone who works does not only have responsibilities towards himself, but also towards the extended family.
Al Yahyai said that accordingly, the Shura Council has requested the Ministry not to cut social benefits for people whose children work. He said if the Ministry wants to amend it, it will have to send it back for review to His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said, who in 2011 had instructed the government to not cut the social benefits of people with working children.
He further said that the amount that people are eligible for has not changed. Currently, one person gets OMR80, two persons get OMR120 and three persons get OMR150, with a maximum of OMR264 given for a family of 10 persons, in order to cover their basic needs.
According to figures provided by the National Centre for Statistics and Information (NCSI), the number of beneficiaries of social insurance increased from 71,200 in 2011 to 84,600 in 2015.
The Shura Council quoted on its Twitter account, Yahya bin Badr Al Maawali, undersecretary of the Ministry, as saying that this amounted to OMR131,861,847 and that the increase in the number of cases was not a good sign. He was further quoted as saying that the Ministry’s strategy should be focused on moving a number of cases out of social security and towards self-reliance.
The Times of Oman (TOO) contacted the Ministry of Social Development for an official comment. However, the Ministry was not able to provide TOO with any comment before the time of publication.