RIYADH, 8 October 2003 — The second day of the Riyadh Economic Forum focused on what the government is doing to help or hinder economic growth — on regulations, policies and procedures — and on the infrastructure needed for it to flourish.

The first session, chaired by Dr. Hassan Al-Mulla with Saudi lawyer Abdul Aziz Al-Qassem as the speaker, took the religious and judicial infrastructure in the Kingdom as its theme.

Al-Qassem stressed above all the need for transparency in judicial matters. For instance, currently expatriate defendants receive a copy of the charge in Arabic, which they may not be able to read or understand. This means that they cannot defend themselves properly.

He also pointed out that some 60 percent of the cases handled by the judges should be dealt with by their juniors to reduce their workload and enable them to concentrate on important cases. Six or seven courts had no clear area of jurisdiction, Al-Qassem said.

Lack of transparency would lead to inconsistency of judgments, he argued, and so it was almost impossible to establish a solid basis of precedent on which future decisions could be founded.

The session also saw calls to increase representation of women from the current woefully low level of 2.7 percent in the employment market. Saudi women, separated from the main hall and addressing the speakers and audience via intercom, argued in favor of strengthening their role in the national economy, to which they contribute about five percent in spite of having SR62 billion in bank deposits.

The disembodied voices of the women participants said there was a tendency to treat women as if they were creatures from outer space, and many called for a clear definition of their rights.

The evening was devoted to the Saudi infrastructure. Electricity and transport was one theme, gas the other. The session was chaired by Ali Al-Zayd, who was also the speaker.

He read a study concluding that the increase of investment in any country is linked to the quality of its infrastructure, with the power sector playing a crucial part.

Al-Zayd said there was an overwhelming need, therefore, to privatize the Kingdom’s power sector.

The current state monopoly led to high tariffs, he said, with two-tier pricing the main culprit.

Al-Zayd said one of the reasons why Saudi Arabia has such a high electricity tariff was, again, a lack of transparency, as well as foggy regulations, and called for the establishment of a supreme commission to regulate the matter.

Wafaa Al-Zayd of Saudi Aramco, in the ensuing debate, said all that the commissions set up to tackle these matters ever did was produce recommendations that are never implemented.

“When are we going to get out of this cycle and begin really implementing practical changes in society?” she asked.