JEDDAH, 21 March 2006 — The government has allocated SR30 billion for 1,052 welfare projects, including in the health and education sectors, in different parts of the Kingdom from the 2004 budget surplus, it was announced yesterday.
Culture and Information Minister Iyad Madani made the announcement after a meeting of the Council of Ministers, which was chaired by Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah.
“The Cabinet meeting reviewed the performance of ministries that have received special allocations from the 2004 budget surplus,” Madani said.
In September 2004, King Abdullah, while he was crown prince, said the government would allocate SR41 billion from the surplus of the year’s fiscal budget for additional welfare programs. He also pointed out that a lion’s share of the surplus, a windfall from soaring oil prices, would be set aside for the payment of public debts.
Abdullah then explained that SR30 billion would be allocated for social and economic projects in the next five years, adding the government would give priority to projects in five sectors: water and sewage, roads and expressways, primary healthcare, school buildings and technical and vocational education.
He said SR9 billion would be given to increase the capital of the Real Estate Development Fund as part of the government’s efforts to provide suitable housing for all Saudis. The Saudi Credit Bank received the remaining SR2 billion to increase its capital from SR1 billion to SR3 billion and provide soft loans to people with limited income to establish small-scale projects.
The Cabinet meeting denounced last week’s raid of a Jericho prison by Israeli occupation forces and arrest of its prisoners. It urged the international community to end its silence on “these arbitrary Israeli polices and practices.”
Referring to the growing violence in Iraq, the Cabinet said the violence was targeting the country’s Islamic scholars and highly educated people.
