Baghdad – IA
Today, Sunday, the Ministry of Labor announced a new mechanism to include more families in the social protection program, and while it indicated the suspension of subsidies for 27,000 abusers during the last 20 days, it confirmed an increase in the amounts recovered from abusers to 215 billion dinars.
The head of the Ministry’s Social Protection Authority, Ahmed Al-Musawi, told the (INA): “The year 2023 was the year of achievements in the social protection file, considering that it is a basic goal in the Prime Minister’s government program and led to the inclusion of 900,000 families in social protection,” noting, “With the beginning of 2024, a new strategy was launched, announced by the Minister of Labor and Social Affairs, to include other new categories in the social protection program, in continuation of the government program that was launched at the beginning of the government and the completion of all procedures.”
He added, “The first file announced by the Minister of Labor and Social Affairs included the inclusion of protection for spinsters over 35 years old, as well as the elderly and widows, so that they have the largest share and the completion of procedures for a series of new meals in 2024, and this is what will be compensated from the families that are removed from the abusers.” .
He added, “The conditions for including these groups are that the poverty line is considered the dividing line in including these families, as the Ministry of Planning works in parallel with the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs, and launched a socio-economic survey. Therefore, all the outputs of the general socio-economic survey in Iraq are translated from… During a new poverty line to include these families,” he pointed out, “This came with the end of the data for the year 2023.”
He stated, “There are new indicators that lead to poverty, and by next April there will be a series of procedures for the new poverty line for the year 2024 in the Ministry of Labor,” pointing out, “These preparations are being made for the process of including the new families that are considered the most deserving, that is, we have transformed operations.” Comprehensiveness from quantitative to qualitative.
He stated, “The year 2024 will witness the inclusion of new and specific categories,” explaining, “Last week witnessed the opening of the door to social research for 43,000, especially for orphans.”
He stated, “The year 2023 witnessed the conduct of social research for two million and 100 thousand families, and a key card was included and issued to 900 thousand families. Now, with approximately one million families, they are waiting to be included in upcoming meals, as we are working on the budget ceiling, which is holding meetings and preparations to approve it, and we have meetings with the Ministry of Finance.” For the purpose of clarifying the new mechanism by which the budget ceilings will be amended, and thus all of this money, along with the funds of those who exceeded it, will include new families within the current government program for the year 2024.”
Regarding the file of transgressors, Al-Moussawi stressed that “this file is very important and there is great interest from Prime Minister Muhammad Shia Al-Sudani in it, as statistics are submitted to him almost weekly through the Minister of Labor and Social Affairs,” pointing out that “in 2023 we reached 193 thousand transgressors, There are 220,000 people who exceed social assistance.”
He stated, “During the past 20 days, aid was stopped for 27,000 beneficiaries with a series of special measures, with an increase in refunds that reached 215 billion dinars.”
He explained, “All of this money that entered the Social Protection Fund will include the new categories announced by the Minister of Labor and Social Affairs.”
He stressed, “The Ministry has moved from the official data of the ministries to more qualitative data from company registrants, contractors, intersection data, and public traffic, as all of this data gives us very good indicators of those violating social protection,” pointing out, “During the past month, more than Of the 5,000 passers-by who turned out to be well-off.”
Regarding the projects of the Ministry of Labor, Al-Moussawi stated, “The loan file comes through the Arzaq service, which is closely monitored by the Ministry, and the amounts allocated by the government for this file amount to 400 billion dinars, and it arrived in the 11th month of last year. We have actually started work, until now.” We have 2,800 young people covered by social protection, and we gave them loans to move into the labor market.”
He stressed, “The loans will generally include 10,000 unemployed people.”
He pointed out that “an additional 400 billion dinars will be allocated to the income-generating small loans fund.”