Some industrialists were said to have threatened to move their factories to Dubai, the commercial hub of the United Arab Emirates, in response to what they describe as increasing pressures on them to accelerate Saudization by replacing foreign workers with Saudis.
Such fears notwithstanding, we have to admit that any project must reap some benefits for the region in which it is built. Businesses have to contribute to the national economy whether through taxation or other types of fees levied by the state.
One industrialist said that even if the industrial sector has not contributed significantly to achieving major goals like the creation of more jobs for its citizens, it makes other contributions that are no less important. These include acquisition and nationalization of technology, motivating other economic sectors, employing national capital and improving the balance of payment.
Nevertheless, all such contributions have no genuine value if they are not directly linked to the job market. Because the continuity of most businesses depends to a large extent on the presence of foreign workers, factories would have to stop production the moment these workers leave.
The effect would not be confined to large factories but would even extend to small workshops.
The contribution of the industrial sector seems to focus on areas not of direct benefit to the country. It could be said that this sector helped transfer technology to countries like India and Bangladesh more than it did to the Kingdom.
It is simple. The individuals who acquired and mastered this technology are foreign workers who will one day return to their countries, taking with them what they learned and mastered during their stay here.
It is no wonder that among the conditions set by some European and American hospitals looking for trained nurses and other medical staff from the Philippines is for these to have acquired experience from working in a Gulf state.
The focus there is now on qualified staff that require no training. The Kingdom has thus become the largest free training workshop in the world. Without the nationalization of jobs, the effect of industrial projects on the national economy — especially the country’s balance of payment — will remain limited. This is a time when foreign transfers by expatriate workers far exceed the contribution of these projects in supporting the country’s balance of trade.
— will remain limited. This is a time when foreign transfers by expatriate workers far exceed the contribution of these projects in supporting the country’s balance of trade.
Arab News From the Local Press 15 March 2003
