JEDDAH, 3 March — Prince Sultan, second deputy premier and minister of defense and aviation, vowed yesterday that he would carefully implement the recent circular issued by the crown prince to ensure good performance of government departments and agencies.
In a reply letter to Crown Prince Abdullah, deputy premier and commander of the National Guard, Prince Sultan said the circular was “an ideal yardstick to measure the performance and a criteria for accountability of governmental agencies.”
Prince Sultan stressed the need for executing the circular in total, adding that he had instructed all sectors of the Defense and Aviation Ministry to implement the crown prince’s instructions.
In his circular, Prince Abdullah urged government departments to address public issues swiftly. They were also told not to submit requests for financial appropriations outside the budget except in the case of an emergency.
The instructions also called for early submission of pending issues to higher authorities to give them enough time to study them thoroughly. “The circular reflects your feeling of responsibility and the quality of a just ruler,” Prince Sultan told the crown prince in the letter.
In his detailed circular, Prince Abdullah had threatened to sack incompetent civil servants if they fail to carry out their duties responsibly.
“The government is capable of replacing untrustworthy and incapable officials with those who are capable and trustworthy,” he said.
He also pointed out that, despite repeated circulars, there were still delays in completing public works, meaning that the number of complaints was constantly growing.
Prince Sultan, who is currently on an inspection tour of the Southern Province, yesterday opened the new royal guesthouse at King Faisal Military City in Khamis Mushayt. He also donated SR2 million to transform the old guesthouse into a ladies’ club.
He inaugurated the second phase of a military project for the 11th Imam Saud Al-Kabeer Brigade. Both functions were attended by Asir Governor Prince Khaled Al-Faisal and senior military officers.
Prince Sultan is scheduled to open a seminar on “Education during the reign of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Fahd — Development and Achievements” organized by King Khaled University in Abha today.
Dr. Abdullah Al-Rashed, president of the university, said the three-day seminar was aimed at highlighting King Fahd’s efforts to promote education in the country.
Experts will discuss research papers on the Kingdom’s educational curriculum, development requirements, higher education, challenges in the sector and the situation of scientific research at 11 sessions of the seminar.
