Provide BD100 monthly allowance to citizens: Bahrain MP

Manama : Amidst the rapidly increasing cost of living, a Bahraini MP has demanded the Government to grant each citizen an allowance of BD100 monthly.

MP Mohammed Al Maarifi recently confirmed in a statement he posted on his personal page on Instagram that he submitted a bill that requires the Government of the Kingdom to disburse monthly allowances of BD100 to each Bahraini citizen since birth until they’re employed “or married in the case of female citizens”.

Al Maarifi claimed in his statement that “this will replace the insurance against unemployment and restructure the subsidy by injecting state funds into the pockets of beneficiaries and preventing the exploitation of subsidies by the non-eligible”.

“This bill will have a significant impact on activating internal markets, lighten the increasing financial burdens on the breadwinners of Bahraini families and serve the welfare of Bahraini citizens,” the MP explained.

Al Maarifi clarified further, “The proposed law will guarantee every citizen the maximum benefit from government support, where the needs of citizens and their financial priorities will vary, as it affects the lack of access to large parts of government support for those eligible. This proposal will restore the financial balance of the Bahraini wage earners and the ability to manage expenses in a way that suits them.”

He added, “The disbursement of these funds is financed by including the social security and disability allowance as well as pumping amounts from the State budget to ensure their continuity and that they cannot be interrupted or suspended under any circumstances.”

The MP also said that his proposal comes to serve the directives of His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa to the Legislative (Parliament and Shura Councils) and Executive (Government) Authorities to reach a consensus to cease imposing financial burdens on citizens.

Al Maarifi’s bill comes in the midst of various austerity, cost-cutting and subsidies removal procedures taken by the Government in recent years. The most recent procedures were increasing the prices of gasoline on January 8 this year and imposing taxes on certain products considered harmful to consumers’ health by the beginning of the year.