Web Report
Riyadh: It shows signs of improvement in Saudi economy as the bonuses and allowances for civil servants and military personnel have been restored.
Saudi Arabia’s King Salman Bin Abdul Aziz has issued a royal decree in this regard. These bonuses and allowances had been cut under austerity measures last September.
“The royal order restores all allowances, financial benefits, and bonuses to civil servants and military staff,” said the decree. King Salman said that the bonuses were restored as revenue increased and the budget deficit declined, according to decrees carried by the official Saudi Press Agency. He replaced the commander of the land forces and ordered the Ministry of Finance to pay a two-month salary bonus to Saudi forces serving on the front lines with Yemen.
Saudi Minister of State Mohammad Al Shaikh said the injection of more money was expected to stimulate economic growth.
The broader overhaul to the government comes as Saudi leadership tackles a slowing economy and the war in Yemen, and seeks to reset US ties under President Donald Trump.
Last September, Saudi Arabia cut ministers’ salaries by 20 per cent and scaled back financial perks for public sector employees in one of the KSA’s most drastic measures to save money at a time of low oil prices. The measures were the first pay cuts for government employees, who make up about two-thirds of working Saudis.
This latest decree cancelled those orders, saying they had come as a response to the sharp drop in the price of oil, the main source of state revenues.
Oil prices sank to a low of around $28 (Dh102) last January amid a two-year price slump. Since late 2016, however, prices have partially rebounded, with Brent crude now trading around $52 a barrel compared to last year’s average of $45.
Al Shaikh said Deputy Crown Prince Mohammad Bin Salman, who serves as chairman of the Council for Economic and Development affairs, recommended the reinstatement of allowances after an official review and better-than-expected budgetary performance in the first quarter of 2017.
