Dr. Ghazi Al-Gosaibi did a fine job when he was appointed minister of industry and electricity a few years ago. His experiments in the field were pioneering. He built the ministry on a basis which was unknown in those days. He developed it into a useful facility, creating public confidence. He won everybody’s appreciation. Those who remember those days saw how successfully he dealt with various matters, without succumbing to bureaucrats and the obstacles they are fond of throwing up. He refused to remain isolated from other government departments. He did not run away from citizens by hiding behind secretaries.
He had a group of professionals working for him and made them understand his objectives and his policies. He also set out conditions for those who wanted to remain in their jobs.
Any government ministry is created to serve the people, not to burden them or create depression, disappointment and frustration. Official procedures should be completed as quickly as possible — those were his instructions to his staff and he held them responsible for delays and if necessary, he took disciplinary action. Dr. Gosaibi insisted that official procedures be simplified to make things easy for the public. He objected to unnecessary paperwork that only delayed matters and led to administrative corruption, bribery and caused harm to both public and national interests.
Dr. Gosaibi returns today to head the Ministry of Water after spending a successful time as our ambassador in London. A former British ambassador to Riyadh has described him as one of the best Saudi ambassadors. “He has done an excellent job as Saudi ambassador to Britain. He enjoys extraordinary cultural capabilities and wields a powerful pen.”
Dr. Gosaibi takes over the Ministry of Water at a time when water has become one of our major concerns. Our age is troubled with drought, a lack of ground water, the increasing cost of desalination and an increasing need for water. He will surely take on his new job and treat it as a challenge. He is fully capable of meeting that challenge as well as realizing people’s hopes and aspirations. No doubt he will not disappoint us but nonetheless, we pray for his success.