Okaz/Saudi Gazette

RIYADH — A Shoura (Consultative) Council member has strongly criticized hiring of some foreign consultancy offices and companies by several government departments to provide various consultancy services to them and said this is a downright dissipation of resources which has no justification whatsoever.

"The foreign consultancy firms have eaten up more than SR12 billion as revealed by the General Auditing Bureau (GAB) after reviewing the foreign consultancy contracts over the past few years," Hani Khashogji said.

"What has the foreign consultant whether individual or company has to offer?" he questioned.

Khashogji also asked: What is the thing that the foreign consultant is able to give which the local consultant is unable to do?

The member said at the individual level, the Saudi universities and colleges are replete with national cadres who are specialized in various forms of knowledge and at the level of the institutions. There are tens of research centers working under the umbrellas of the universities or the private sector.

He said the national Saudi consultancy offices were worthy of the contracts which cost billions of riyals.

"I have no doubt that our national consultancy offices and centers will accept one tenth of the money offered to the foreign consultancy firms," he added.

Khashogji said the foreign consultant usually builds his reports and studies on the data provided to him by the government official or the national researcher while he is sipping tea or coffee with him in his office.

"The foreign consultant will then bring out the data in the form of a colorful report or a power-point presentation which will dazzle the audience," he said.

Khashogji, however, admitted that the foreign expertise might be required in some fields such as energy, water desalination, medicine and other vital areas.

He was, however, surprised that foreign expertise would be sought in political, economic or financial issues.

"It is not simply acceptable that we will seek foreign consultancy to formulate a vision, mission or strategic objectives to us or show us how to control expenditure and how to privatize government institutions," he said.