Muscat,
(ONA) —- The Social Protection Fund, established by Royal Decree No. 33/2021, emerges as an entity with administrative and financial autonomy. It acts as the official body responsible for social protection programmes in the Sultanate of Oman.
The Social Protection Fund is mandated to apply the provisions of the Social Protection Law and related legislations. It cooperates with the authorities tasked with programmes of social protection, empowerment, economic and social integration, care and support of all kinds.
The fund seeks to improve the quality of life by providing social protection and enhancing investment in society through the development and implementation of policies and programmes in social and economic fields.
The Social Protection Fund monitors indicators of sustainability, efficiency, adequacy and fairness to assess the extent to which these programmes and policies achieve national goals and visions.
The fund cross-checks the programmes’ sustainability, integration, inclusiveness and stability, as well as their impact on the values of social partnership and preservation of the rights of current and future generations.
The Social Protection Fund has a wide range of objectives. It implements Oman’s vision and policy on social protection, provides adequate, fair and sufficient insurance cover and social protection for various segments of society.
It establishes an integrated and sustainable scheme for social protection and invests resources in a manner that generates the best possible revenue within the scope of reasonable risks.
The fund’s objectives also include striking a balance between current and future assets and liabilities, besides developing savings tools and support programmes.
The Social Protection Fund is empowered to practice its specializations and achieve its objectives, including the implementation of the Social Protection Law, promulgated by Royal Decree No. 50/2023, and its related legislations.
These include proposing general policies for social protection, contributing to the formulation of social protection strategies and programmes, enhancing the social protection system in terms of benefits and covered segments and evaluating the effectiveness of social programmes.
The fund will invest funds within Oman and abroad, distribute the returns among social insurance branches, establish all forms of companies to carry out investment or operational activities, forge partnerships with houses of expertise, procure and sell various assets and establish investment projects on its own or in conjunction with other investors within Oman and abroad.
The fund is entitled to restructure, regulate, merge, consolidate, liquidate, sell and discard any of its properties, investments or subsidiaries. It may also carry out all necessary legal actions to that effect, conduct relevant studies and draft laws, Royal decrees, regulations and related decisions.
Within the context of its competences, programmes, services and policies, the fund will coordinate with the authorities concerned, so that it could align its approaches with the relevant initiatives.
It also has a right to conclude agreements, memoranda of understanding and contracts related to its terms of reference, besides representing Oman in conferences and meetings of regional and international organizations and institutions within the scope of its missions.
The fund supervises social protection programmes that generate cash benefits for the elderly, children, people with disabilities, orphans, widows, family income support entities and social insurance branches dealing with insurance for the elderly, cases of disability, death, work injuries, occupational diseases, job security, maternity leave, and sick leave and unscheduled leave.
The fund also manages a savings scheme, monitors the financial performance of complementary programmes run by other parties and coordinates with competent authorities within the purview of support programmes, rehabilitation, empowerment, social care, economic and social adaptation and social protection policies.
