Jeddah-based Ihsan Tayyib attacked private companies at a seminar to mark an international day for social work.

Tayyib spoke about how voluntary work was rapidly spreading across the Kingdom.

He also claimed people were participating in new types of voluntary work that not just included donation collecting, but participating in campaigns. He said this was because they were keen to offer new ideas and strategies.

He singled out banks for harsh criticism, claiming they only make minor donations such as handing out free school bags despite making billions of riyals in profits.

Tayyib called on larger institutions to embark on more major projects such as establishing rehabilitation centers and factories where people with special needs could work.

King Abdulaziz University professor and economic analyst Asa’ad Jawhar stressed that communities should not turn into a society of beggars who look for donations from the private sector.

On the contrary, Jawhar said the private sector must provide advanced training programs to help jobseekers get better paid jobs through their corporate social responsibility (CSR) programs and not just provide training for minor jobs such as office work.

He also suggested that private companies should help provide computers and English learning facilities to schools in poor neighborhoods by cooperating with educational institutions.

He added that the majority of private companies provide poor CSR programs even though they receive aid from the Human Resource Fund.

Jawhar criticized the fund, calling on its officials to examine programs offered by private companies before giving them any aid or privileges, or at least penalize them unless they offer useful initiatives.

“Private companies should not have full freedom in selecting the programs they are offering through CSR initiatives,” explained Jawhar.