The Governor of Hail Prince Saud ibn Abdul Mohsen has bitterly complained of the highly centralized decision-making and its effect on development. He said Hail is part of a system tied to rigid rules, and called for a mechanism that would allow provinces to become more involved in the development process.
“The Kingdom is a country the size of a continent, with each region having its own characteristics, areas of strength and weakness and development needs. What is applied today may not be suitable after some time, when many things have changed,” the prince was quoted as saying in a recent interview.
He was speaking based on his long experience in government and his daily contact with people who present him with their requests and complaints.
For him the issue has less to do with people than with a system that needs to develop and adapt. The country, he said, was still functioning on laws and regulations that have long been overtaken by events.
The prince said he could read the problems of the people who come to see him every day in their eyes. “Any self-respecting person would find it extremely difficult to tell people that everything is all right and that their problems will be solved within a day or two. Some people come to me and say: This is the fourth petition I present to you and there is still no solution,” he said.
What the prince didn’t say was that people come to him and ask: Why didn’t you solve our problems, you are the governor, the most senior official in the area and the representative of the king. Where shall we go? Perhaps we should petition the king himself since you have been unable to do anything.
These people should know that the prince himself is helpless and can’t do anything because he is shackled by a system that does not provide enough room for maneuver.
Provincial governors cannot do much because all decisions governing the development process are highly centralized. As a solution Prince Saud suggested a kind of self-rule by giving governors a degree of independence to manage their region’s affairs in a manner that would ensure accountability. Those in the highest echelons of power “want to do something,” but the problem lies with the mechanisms that continue to hamper them. Only radical changes can solve the problem. The people are waiting.
Arab News From the Local Press 26 July 2003
