Society for welfare of fishermen planned

Muscat, March 18 The Ministry of Social Development (MoSD) plans to establish a society for the welfare of Omani fishermen, come out with a law to help the elderly and set up an Autism Children Center Project in cooperation with the private sector. Shaikh Mohammed bin Said al Kalbani, Minister of Social Development, revealed these plans at the third annual session of the eighth term (2015-19) of Shura Council on Sunday. “The total number of social security cases until the end of 2017 reached 79,487, supported with assistance to the tune of RO 122,945,635. Facilities provided to beneficiaries include loan exemptions, financial/ in-kind assistance and review of phenomenon of dropouts from internal missions in light of the studies conducted by the ministry,” said Al Kalbani. He said the ministry provides aid for individuals and families exposed to exceptional climatic factors and conditions. A total of 185 people benefited from relief assistance in 2017. As for the Omani women’s associations, 23 associations were built in 2017, where many activities were held as per community’s needs in each wilayat. The minister said 15 per cent of each association’s land was allocated for commercial purposes. Speaking about the emergency assistance regulations, he said in 2017 the ministry provided cash assistance to the tune of RO 107,422 to 1,151 people. It dealt with 100 disaster cases, providing RO 41,182. The ministry provided assistance to the tune of RO 866,060 to 8,875 citizens requiring electricity or water connections. He said the total amount needed in the first five years of the strategy amounted to RO 14.4 million. Meanwhile, the Majlis Ash’shura members’ discussion concentrated on the importance of continuing the social insurance support, supporting and qualifying people with special needs, improving services provided to the elderly and upgrading the e-services provided by the ministry. There was also a wide discussion on the importance of extending the services provided by the ministry to include retirees and job-seekers until they are employed.