DOHA: Qatar, the world’s wealthiest country, has substantially raised state grants for weaker segments of its society.
Grants have been nearly trebled for those covered by the social security system in view of rising prices, Qatar News Agency (QNA) reported yesterday.
Beneficiaries include widows, divorcees, women left by their husbands, orphans, needy families, people who can’t work and people with special needs.
They also include those with unknown father or parents, families whose heads have been missing, families of prisoners, and the elderly with no source of income.
Monthly dole for most beneficiaries was QR2,250, which have been raised to QR6,000 on average.
Eligible widows, divorcees and women left by their husbands are now entitled to QR6,000 a month each, while a needy family will receive QR6,000.
The lady of the house of a needy family will get an additional QR2,000 and her children QR1,000 each.
The allowance for people with special needs has been raised to QR4,000 a month and for orphans QR6,000 each.
A person under 17 whose father or both parents are unknown will now be entitled to a monthly grant of QR3,000. Once he is over 17, the dole will be doubled.
The wife of a prisoner is entitled to QR6,000 a month and their children QR1,000 each.
The same applies to the family of a missing person who was the bread-winner.
An elderly person unable to work will receive QR6,000 a month, while his wife will be entitled to QR2,000 and children QR1,000 each.
The Emir H H Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani yesterday approved Cabinet’s Decision No. 46 of 2014, raising the grants for beneficiaries of the state’s social security or support system.
The decision will be effective the day after it is published in the official gazette, QNA said.
On September 10, the Emir had issued directives that allowances for the beneficiaries of the social security system be raised.
The Cabinet’s decision says people with special needs and those who cannot work will be entitled to a special monthly allowance of QR1,500 each so that they can employ servants if they don’t get state care.
The beneficiaries are listed in Law No. 38 of 1995.
The allowances were quite low earlier. For instance, widows and divorcees received QR2,250 while needy families, the families of prisoners and disabled people with children got the same amount and an additional QR540 each.
THE PENINSULA
