Saudi Arabia has cancelled bonus payments for state employees and cut ministers’ salaries by 20 per cent, the official Saudi Press Agency reported.
The government also placed curbs on allowances for state employees and pared salaries of Shura Council members by 15 per cent, the news service reported. The decision affects bonus payments for the lunar year that ends next week.
The agency did not say how much money the cuts would save state coffers.
Under Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the world’s biggest oil exporter has taken steps to rein in a budget shortfall that ballooned to 16 per cent of GDP last year, the highest among the world’s 20 biggest economies. The government has delayed payments owed to contractors and started cutting fuel subsidies as it tries to manage lower oil prices.
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