RIYADH, 18 January 2008 — Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah ordered aid worth SR654 million to be distributed among social security beneficiaries to help them live through the extreme cold weather in the Kingdom, Minister of Social Affairs Abdul Mohsen Al-Akkas said yesterday.
The royal order specified that the aid, in addition to the regular handouts, was to buy winter clothes to help people overcome the severe cold. “This money will be deposited directly in the accounts of the beneficiaries from Saturday,” the Saudi Press Agency quoted the minister as saying.
Al-Akkas said this emergency aid would be a one-off payment distributed outside the framework of pensions and assistance approved in the current budget.
The minister urged the beneficiaries to utilize the money to protect themselves from the unusual cold weather. Since the beginning of this month, the ministry disbursed SR815 million in social security benefits, he added.
At least 10 people and hundreds of animals have died as a result of unprecedented cold weather in different parts of the Kingdom.
