JEDDAH, 29 May — Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Fahd yesterday commended the decisions taken by the Supreme Economic Council including the move to cut import duties. The king was addressing a regular weekly session of the Council of Ministers at Al-Salam Palace here.
The Cabinet approved the rules and principles for the settlement of the claims of the Ministry of PTT employees who were transferred to the Saudi Telecom Company.
The king underscored the achievements of the Shoura Council over the past years. He said the Shoura members had been selected on the basis of their wisdom, expertise and qualifications.
King Fahd lauded the SEC for its efforts to develop the country’s economic and administrative structures. The SEC is a mini-Cabinet headed by Crown Prince Abdullah, deputy premier and commander of the National Guard. SEC’s decision to cut customs tariff on imports from 12 to five percent — an actual reduction of 58 percent — taken on Sunday is expected to boost business activities in the country. The Kingdom’s earnings from customs tariffs was SR9.63 billion in 1999 compared to SR10.13 billion in 1998.
Saleh Al-Barrak, director general of the Customs Department, told Arab News that his department was ready to implement the decision, which, he added, would restrict fraudulent practices by some traders. He said the measure would reduce customs revenue initially but would increase the business volume.
Dr. Yaseen Al-Jafry, a Saudi economist, estimated that the revenues from customs would drop to SR4 billion. In 1999, the Kingdom imported products worth SR104.9 billion against SR112.3 billion the year before.
The decision to lower import duties will reduce prices of cars, spare parts, electrical equipment, household devices, computers, stationery items, jewelry, watches, perfumes, shoes and certain food items in the local market.
Referring to the case of the former employees of the Ministry of Posts, Telegraphs and Telephones, the Cabinet said the Saudi Telecom Company would sign work contracts with those employees who wish to be employed under the labor law. Their new service will be subject to the social insurance system, it added.
The Ministry of PTT will inform the employees who opted to stay with the ministry that their positions will be abolished in the next budget. It will also prepare a document explaining the rules to be applied when they are made redundant.
The employees willing to shift to STC will be given two options to settle their dues — they can either follow the civil service retirement scheme or postpone the settlement until a new law is enacted in coordination with the social insurance system and the civil service. The Cabinet decided to enact a new law in this regard within a year.
The Cabinet said the dues of employees who have completed less than 20 years of service would be settled in accordance with Articles 18/2 and 23 of the Civil Service Retirement System.
The Pensions Fund will bear 50 percent of the sum and the rest will be borne by the STC. The total amount to be paid by the fund and the company will be determined by the actual number of employees who intend to end their service, a Cabinet statement said.
The employees who have completed more than 20 years of service will be retired in accordance with Article 18/1 of the Civil Retirement System. The department will complete the procedures for the settlement of their dues with 50 percent of the cost met by the fund and the rest by the company. This is until the employee reaches the age of 60 when the department will pay his full pension dues and will determine the amounts to be paid by the fund and the company.
The holidays of the said employees will be calculated in line with Article 28/3 and 28/25 of the executive bylaw of the Civil Service System. An employee will get compensation for his holidays as outlined in the system. He will have the right to use these holidays while in service.
The Cabinet emphasized that no employee would have the right to demand further compensation after this settlement. The STC will calculate their insurance dues and pay them to the General Organization for Social Insurance. The Cabinet also decided to publish economic and financial reports regularly and authorized the Communications Ministry to hold talks with Morocco to sign accords in the areas of land and marine transportation.
The meeting authorized the Ministry of Petroleum and Minerals to supervise technical aspects of the gas pipelines of the National Gas and Industrialization Company. The Commerce Ministry has been asked to check whether the company fulfilled its commitments to consumers.
The Cabinet inducted Muhammad ibn Obeid Binzagr and Abdul Aziz ibn Muhammad Al-Adel to the board of Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency and extended the membership of Abdul Aziz Al-Quraishi on the board for five years. It appointed Saleh ibn Abdul Aziz Al-Hujeilan as ambassador at the Foreign Ministry.
