The Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan Humanitarian Foundation is gearing up preparations to carry out a nationwide programme to subsidise rice as per directives from the President, His Highness Shaikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan.

The move, which reflects the President’s diligence to guarantee citizens their essential needs and ease up the cost of living, will ensure that the staple food is sold at less than half the original price, following the footsteps of a similar programme that is being successfully implemented in the emirate of Abu Dhabi.

The subsidy programme will be carried out in cooperation with municipalities across the country.

The programme envisages to distribute around 325,000 sacks of 40kg Basmati rice at a price of Dh120 while the original price of a sack stands at Dh260.

The foundation has designated distribution centres across various emirates, under the supervision of cooperative societies and municipalities.

The foundation said that rice of the highest quality has been selected for the programme, that comes on the occasion of the holy month of Ramadan.

This is the second year in a row the foundation is implementing the Ramadan food programme on the local level.

Meanwhile, employees at local departments of the Abu Dhabi Government, personnel at the Armed Forces General Headquarters and Abu Dhabi Police General Headquarters and police and army pensioners as well as employees of the Dubai government will get their salaries for July on July 25, 2011.