“I swear by God that the crown prince said to me: ‘Where are those people? We have shown serious concern for municipal councils and elections to those councils, but so far, I have seen no councils; nothing has happened. We are losing credibility because of things we promise but which are not carried out. Why? There are some who are trying to block this particular promise. It is true there are also sincere and dedicated people, but their efforts are not being used as properly and aggressively as required. We must begin questioning anyone who has been given a specific assignment but has not come up with a clear justification for the delay and the reasons behind it. Why are there so many things that still have not been done?’”
The foregoing is part of a recent interview by Prince Miteb ibn Abdullah, assistant deputy commander of the National Guard for military affairs. He was relating what he had personally heard from his father, Crown Prince Abdullah, deputy premier and commander of the National Guard. Prince Miteb spoke of the crown prince’s frustration over the lack of progress and constant delays in implementing decisions made by higher authorities. He also spoke of the foot dragging and failure to accelerate progress in certain areas, notably training and qualification programs for Saudi youth, saying they are experiencing the same fate as the proposed municipality elections.
In the interview, Prince Miteb went on to say, “I can tell you frankly the state has done everything possible to encourage and accelerate these programs. I know this from Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Fahd, Crown Prince Abdullah and Prince Sultan, second deputy premier and minister of defense and aviation, as well as from other government officials. But who is the negligent party that is not carrying out the instructions?”
As for vocational training, Prince Miteb said that the crown prince had told him the government was steadily losing credibility as it saw its decisions and instructions not being carried out. He said: “The crown prince told me: ‘Look, we don’t want you to be like those who have been entrusted with overseeing municipality elections. Many people have asked for elections. We decided on municipality elections as a starter to see how things would go. Up to now they — the persons responsible for the elections — have done nothing to translate the idea into reality. They must do their jobs because in the end, the blame will be put on the government for making decisions that are not implemented. I press for accelerating the process but I still want to know who those who are obstructing things are and also who is behind the delay.’”
Prince Miteb explained that when a royal decree or a government decision is made, the authorities take the matter seriously and view it with great concern, wishing to see it carried out as soon as possible. All these were words from Prince Miteb, quoting the crown prince, his father.
As for the proposed municipality election, the Council of Ministers endorsed the idea several months ago and called for them to be held within a year. But we are yet to see any serious efforts involving detailed arrangements and preparations for what will naturally be a complicated proceeding. What can it all mean?
