JEDDAH: Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah was always concerned for the affairs of the Kingdom and gave attention to investment in his citizens, especially the youths who are considered the pillar of the country’s future, according to strategic expert Dr. Anwar Majed Eshqi.
He concentrated a lot on two aspects —education and living.
In addition to the new universities that have been established, there are about 100,000 Saudi students on scholarships abroad who will not necessarily work in the government sector; they would rather be supporting the national efforts for development and further improvement of the economy, he said. For that purpose, he added, the king has the Hadaf Program put in place. The program provides support to those who want to start feasible projects.
For those who want to be hired in the private sector, the Human Resources Fund encourages companies to train and then hire them by bearing 75 percent of the training expenses with the rest of the expenses met by Hadaf.
As for living, he said, King Abdullah raised government real estate interest-free loans for citizens. A citizen would be reimbursed 25 percent of the loan if it was paid back quickly. There is also support for those with disabilities, he said. A disabled person is given a SR20,000 marriage loan.
Strategic expert Dr. Ali Al-Tawati said Hadaf is a mechanism to provide Saudi youths with interest-free loans.
The Saudi Saving and Credit Bank has been providing its services to Saudis for a long time, although Hadaf facilitates bureaucratic procedures to obtain the loan, raised the ceiling for loans, expanded the scope for obtaining the loan and facilitated the repayment mechanism.
Hadaf’s main goal is to fulfill the requirements of those aged 20 to 35, but it is not the only program to provide financial assistance to this age group, he said.
There is the Credit Bank’s Centennial Fund that helps them start businesses with their own ideas being protected from profit-seeking lending organizations. It also provides interest-free housing loans that are repaid over 25 years. The Hafiz program supervised by the Ministry of Labor aims at obtaining an accurate number of the unemployed by helping them find work. Hafiz benefits both men and women, he added.
