By Fatima Al-Debais

Okaz/Saudi Gazette

RIYADH — The Shoura Council has approved an amendment to Article 13 of the Civil Service Law, allowing some government employees to engage in commercial activities.

Okaz/Saudi Gazette has learned that the amendment comes in the form of adding the following paragraph to the article that reads: “The Ministry of Civil Service prepares, in coordination with the relevant authorities, a draft regulation that governs the work of the government employees in trade, including the necessary controls and procedures to ensure transparency and fairness among the entire staff, and stave off conflict of interest and not violate the duty of work or duty time. In the future, a major segment of civil servants can be allowed to benefit from this exemption.”

The Shoura approved this after the concerned committee took the spirit of recommendation made by a member Dr. Ahmed Omar Al-Zaylai. The Shoura sources added that the amendment stipulated that the employee must refrain from engaging in trade in direct and indirect ways, and as an exception to this, permitting specific groups to engage in trade can be made by a regulation approved by the Council of Ministers.

Similar is the case with accepting the membership in the boards of directors of companies or any work in companies or in commercial stores. As per the amendment, it is also permissible by virtue of a regulation issued by the Council of Ministers to allow government employees to work in the private sector after completing their official working hours.