Ministry of Finance has revealed income support allowance has been disbursed to over 20,000 individuals whose sources of income were affected due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The latest update of the finance ministry revealed USD 23.25 million has been disbursed as income support allowance to 20,768 individuals, as of March 18. The finance ministry said it is now conducting the last round of the disbursement of the income support allowance.
The government introduced a monthly income support allowance of USD 323 as compensation to cover the essential expenses of individuals whose employment has been negatively affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. The income support allowance is provided for individuals who have been either dismissed or suspended from their jobs without pay, as well as employees who have been sent on no-pay leaves and employees whose monthly wages have been reduced below USD 323 as a result of the pandemic.
The allowance was disbursed on three rounds; the first round from April, May and June 2020; the second round from July, August and September 2020 and the last round from October, November and December 2020. Currently, the allowance is disbursed for individuals who requested for the income support allowance in December 2020.