Ali Al-Sharaimi

Al-Watan

Why is there always a gap between the real needs of the citizens and the statements of the ministers and senior government officials? The statements are so rosy and tightly woven they will make you believe that the minister’s achievements are not only real but also unprecedented.



I will review here five statements that were recently made by the minister of national economy and planning.



He said in the first one that unemployment has existed since the time of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) and that its current rate in the Kingdom is only 6 percent.



This statement is nullified by the large number of the jobless Saudi men and women.



According to the figures of the Central Department of Statistics and Information (CDSI), there were more than 657,000 unemployed Saudis by mid 2014, or 19.3 percent.



This rate was, however, not calculated according to the data of the Human Resources Development Fund (Hadaf) otherwise it would have doubled.



When we add the number of citizens being employed for meager salaries in order to circumvent Saudization rules, we will have a total of 902,200 jobless Saudis, or 26.5 percent.



Another question. How can we reconcile the minister’s figure with the statement of more than 1,800 economic experts in the recent World Economic Forum in Geneva who confirmed that unemployment would be the main issue before the decision makers in 2015?



In a second statement, the minister said the Saudi citizen is enjoying a high level of prosperity compared to the economies of other countries of the world.



Nobody has actually witnessed any of this. The citizen is still waiting for improvements in health, social affairs, municipal services, education, housing, transport and other vital sectors.



In a third statement the minister said about 61 percent of the Saudi families are living in their own private houses.



Paradoxically, this very statement coincided with the establishment of the Housing Ministry that was to solve the problem of the housing shortage for citizens.



In his fourth statement, the minister said Saudi males working for the private sector are being paid comparatively high salaries.



The Ministry of Labor in an official report said the average monthly salary of a Saudi citizen in the private sector in 2012 was SR4,800. When you add the level of inflation, the real salary becomes only SR2,400.



In his fifth statement the minister said the subsidy of fuel and the process of Saudization were impeding the Kingdom’s economic development. Nobody actually knows how.



The legitimate question here is this. Why does the citizen not feel the achievements the minister is talking about in his statements? Why is the development the minister is talking about not been reflected on the citizens’ living standards?



Why is there a huge gulf between the citizen’s actual needs and requirements and the flowery statements of the ministers and senior government officials regarding his development and prosperity?



Finally if you see a cartoon character like Bugs Bunny walking quickly on the peels of bananas without falling down, remember the media balloons blown up by our ministers and senior officials. You will find them empty and you may kill yourself with laughter.