Double meat subsidy compensation: MP
Manama : An MP has proposed to double the cash handouts, which were initiated by the government to compensate the citizens for removing meat subsidies in the Kingdom.
This according to MP Isa Turki will “help alleviate the burden on the citizens, considering the high demand for meat products and the prices for goods during the Holy Month.”
Bahrain chose to end its subsidies on meat and poultry products in 2015, as nations across the Middle East scrambled to deal with the crisis sparked by the drop in oil prices.
The decision, however, resulted in sending the prices of meat products up by three times in the local market from its previous
level.
The move was followed by a decision to compensate the citizens by depositing allowances in their bank accounts, once in every three months. The amount varied from BD5, BD2.5 to BD3.5 depending on the age of the beneficiaries of the scheme.
In March this year, the government rejected another parliamentary proposal to compensate each citizen with BD10 every month for removing meat subsidies.
According to a report, Kingdom’s budgetary allowances for paying meat subsidies touched BD67 million in 2014.
Latest official statistics say that 151,000 Bahraini families are benefiting the compensation scheme, which costs the government around BD26 million.
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