High percentage of debt relief appeals met with rejection in campaign
The Kingdom continues to make strides in its debt forgiveness initiative, with each governorate operating its own review committee to determine the exact number of qualified beneficiaries based on transparent standards. The Sharia Technical Committees are overseeing the review process, ensuring that all decisions are in line with Islamic principles.
Dr. Al-Ajmi, the Acting Undersecretary, is personally monitoring the committees' progress, ensuring that the review process remains fair and efficient. The committees are bound by rules that prohibit leaking or exploiting information and must report any violations immediately.
The acceptance rate for applications in the third national campaign to pay off debts of insolvent individuals is between 5% and 10%. Many applications have been dismissed due to the absence of official debt cases, exceeding the maximum eligible cap, or prior benefits from earlier rounds. The rejection rate by the Sharia committees may reach as high as 90%.
The committees are leaning toward paying only the principal amounts of debt in cases involving non-Islamic banks, and a religious ruling is awaited from the Fatwa Department at the Ministry of Islamic Affairs. The review process is conducted by six technical committees, which have examined about 40% of the total requests so far.
The initiative, launched last Ramadan, prioritizes cases involving prisoners, the elderly, and those facing alimony-related court orders. The number of applications submitted per region varies between 1,200 and 2,000. Inquiries from applicants are handled via the government's "Sahel" platform, and applications related to government debts, such as unpaid electricity bills, municipal fines, or traffic violations, are excluded outright.
The Ministry has warned of disciplinary action against members who breach these codes, underscoring its commitment to a fair and transparent review process. With the review committees making steady progress, hope remains for those struggling with debt in the Kingdom.
Dr. Al-Ajmi, the Acting Undersecretary, is closely monitoring the progress of the review committees in the personal-finance sector, especially debt-management, to ensure fairness and efficiency, while adhering to the rules that prohibit information leaks or exploitation. The acceptance rate for applications in the national debt forgiveness initiative is between 5% and 10%, with the Sharia committees responsible for reviewing the applications potentially rejecting as many as 90% of them due to incomplete or exceeding the eligible cap.
