Muscat – The Ministry of Social Development (MoSD) has stated that the total amount paid to the social security sector in 2021 was RO107,546,810.

According to a statement issued by the ministry, a total of RO7,681,915 is being disbursed monthly among 72,707 applicants of different categories of the social security sector this year.

MoSD informed that the social security sector includes orphans, widows, elderly, deserted women, divorced women, unmarried girls, persons with disability and families of prisoners.

In 2021, there were 30,233 individuals in the elderly category who were paid a combined amount of RO3,329,843 per month, 21,555 individuals in the disability category who were paid a combined amount of RO2,420,811 per month, and 11,439 divorced women who received a combined amount of RO92,059 per month.

A total of 3,492 widows received a total of RO429,172 per month, and 3,396 unmarried girls received a total of RO291,378 per month.

There were 2,300 orphans who received a total of RO247,459 per month, 169
prisoners’ families (RO26,260 per month) and 35 individuals with disabilities (RO4,675 per month).

In the statement, MoSD reaffirmed its commitment to enhancing social work by supporting and empowering the needy, building effective mechanisms for social protection, strengthening social solidarity, activating community partnership, and raising the efficiency of resources to provide high quality social services.

The ministry hailed the Royal Directive last week of His Majesty Sultan Haitham bin Tarik to pay an additional salary to social security categories during Ramadan, to work to mitigate the impact of high prices of goods and services on them, and expedite the review of social programmes to facilitate adequate livelihood for them.