These days the attention of regional and provincial officials is focused on Riyadh. All of them are waiting anxiously to find out their region’s share of the budget. Up to now, the regional officials remain in the dark, neither knowing how much has been allocated to their regions nor whether the money will be sufficient to begin new projects and complete those in progress.
The budget has already been sent to the ministries, though it will be some three weeks before the branches are told what amounts they can expect. The amounts may or may not be enough for branch needs; no regional authority, as we know, has a say in the amount given to it out of the budget. The branches can do no more than ask their ministries to consider the financial requirements for the year. If the ministry believes the request is valid, it is forwarded to the Ministry of Finance which has the final say.
It is thus very much possible that funds allocated for a certain project in a given region fail to meet the requirements while in another region, enough funds are allocated for the same project. From such circumstances as these, discrepancies in economic development occur. This is the way things have been done here in the Kingdom for decades and they may continue in the same way unless some much-needed corrective action is taken.
Fortunately, some hope has now appeared on the horizon. Prince Sultan, second deputy premier and minister of defense and aviation, has said that provincial councils will have independent budgets within three years. The move has been widely welcomed for it will enable administrative regions to prioritize their development needs and help overcome the red tape that is a major obstacle to development.
It will also allow regional governors and members of provincial councils full responsibility to oversee and be accountable for budgetary allocations which come to them.
