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The budget allocated significant sums for allowances, including KD 295 million for the nature of work allowance, a 21% increase from KD 242.6 million in 2021/2022.
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The ‘site allowance’ increased by 23.7% to KD 48.9 million this year, up from KD 39.5 million in 2021/2022.
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Bonuses and allowances in the budget grew significantly, reaching KD 6.016 billion in 2023/2024, up from KD 4.647 billion in 2021/2022.
The 2023/2024 general budget allocates approximately KD 1.7 billion for thirty one different allowances for government employees, reflecting a 30.7% increase from the KD 1.3 billion allocated in the 2022/2023 fiscal year. This represents a 103% rise compared to the KD 834 million in allowances from the 2021/2022 budget.
Earlier, Anwar Al-Mudhaf, the Minister of Finance, discussed the allowances granted to government employees, stating, “The general budget suffers from continuous and unjustified growth in allowances, which must not continue, especially since most of them have outlived the agencies that granted them.” He expressed his intention to review the allowances and work to reduce them in the coming period.
Various types of allowances
The general budget allocated significant sums for various types of allowances, many of which have increased in recent years. For example, the nature of work allowance received KD 295 million, a 21% increase from the KD 242.6 million allocated in the 2021/2022 fiscal year. Danger allowances rose from KD 130.4 million to approximately KD 168.6 million in the 2023/2024 budget, marking a 29.2% increase.
The allocation for the “representation allowance” was KD 81.5 million, an 8.8% increase from the KD 74.9 million allocated in 2021/2022. The “Nuba Allowance” saw a 40.9% increase, rising from KD 36.6 million in 2021/2022 to KD 51.6 million in the current fiscal year.
The allowances disbursed under the name “site allowance” increased by 23.7%, reaching approximately KD 48.9 million in the current fiscal year, compared to about KD 39.5 million in 2021/2022. Similarly, the “medals” allowance saw a rise from KD 29.9 million to KD 40.8 million, marking a 36.4% increase.
Other allowances also experienced increases: the supervision allowance reached KD 47.3 million, the “guard” allowance was KD 37.7 million, the “housing” allowance amounted to KD 28.8 million, and the car allowance for leaders stood at about KD 2.4 million.
New allowances
In the past two years, new allowances have been added to the list of payments to government employees. These include an in-service cash allowance ‘civilian’ with an allocation of approximately KD 485 million in the current fiscal year. The “reservation” allowance was also introduced, valued at KD 109 million, along with an end-of-service cash allowance ‘civil’ worth KD 35 million.
Bonuses, allowances surge to KD 6 billion
The bonuses and allowances item in the general budget saw significant growth over the last three years, reaching KD 6.016 billion in the 2023/2024 budget, compared to KD 4.647 billion in the 2021/2022 budget.
