MAKKAH, 15 September 2007 — Muhammad Al-Ogla, undersecretary for social insurance at the Ministry of Social Affairs, said the ministry was planning to open a women’s branch for social insurance in Makkah.
“The branch will start functioning soon with the appointment of a capable woman to head the branch,” Al-Ogla said after the ministry signed a contract with a private company to set up the headquarters for the Siwaq Project, a SR3-million employment scheme aimed at providing jobs to poor Saudis who sell the Siwaq tooth-cleaning stick around the Grand Mosque. The stick is commonly used by people in the Middle East and some Asian countries.
In collaboration with the Ministry of Labor and the Human Resources Development Fund, the Social Affairs Ministry is striving to find employment opportunities for the beneficiaries of the social insurance through this project.
“The ministry is currently discussing the modalities of the family employment scheme with Al-Rajhi Bank, which has shown considerable interest in the scheme,” Al-Ogla said.
The financial aid from the social insurance department has been distributed to more than 570,000 poor families in the Kingdom, the official said.
Its sources are the Zakah Fund and state grant. The beneficiaries are paid through ATM machines on the first day of each month of the Hijra calendar.
“The total monthly average of the aid is put at SR830 million while this month the amount reached SR916 million,” he said.
The variation in the monthly average is because some new names are added and some names deleted from the list of beneficiaries every month, he said.
The male beneficiaries reaching the age of 26 and women beneficiaries who marry are struck off from the list.
While some people are paid at the rate of SR2,950 a month, others get only SR750. Through its 89 offices, the ministry finds out and offers its aid to every needy citizen, he said.
The official said the Siwaq Project would start operating its first phase in 10 months.
This is the ministry’s second project to help the poor families to become productive. The first one was launched in the Asir region. If the Siwaq Project is found successful similar projects will be launched at other suitable locations.
The official said the beneficiaries will not be charged any fees for the Siwaq kiosks. The ministry will monitor the performance of the kiosks and prevent any manipulations to divert the kiosks from the original objective of supporting family employment, he added.
