Al-Madinah newspaper

The Saudi Citizen’s Account program announced a special budget for Saudis who are in need; this amounts to around SR300 depending on the number of people in a family, their ages and income.

We all know that the Saudi Citizen’s Account program launched its electronic portal and that half of the Kingdom’s Saudi population signed up as users. The program is run online, which means that users might face some technical issues, just like any other online program. The Citizen Account program also allows a system for raising objections and making suggestions.

However, some people criticized the portal on the first day of its launch saying that it was useless. Some people even asked for it to be shut down. These people have no justification in making such demands.

Since the announcement of the launch of the Saudi Citizen’s Account portal, the authorities have given assurances that the website is there to help families in need by providing them with money to cover the differences of the newly increased electricity tariffs, new petrol prices and the introduction of Value Added Tax (VAT).

The website is there for people to make wise choices. If they themselves do not attempt to understand its role and economize their spending, then no Citizen’s Account or any other portal will help.

In my opinion, the money deposited in the Citizen’s Account should not be taken out immediately and spent on paying debts or other expenses. Instead, people should save the money and only spend it on the new tariffs that were previously announced.

We are entering a new era and we must give ourselves time to adapt. We should not be judgmental from the beginning and allow ourselves time to reconsider our expenditures and lifestyle. Only then will we become used to the new economic situation that we find ourselves in.