Like many others, I always wanted to see the Shoura Council sessions broadcast on television. That is why I was extremely happy when the opportunity came to watch the council members deliberate.
Having watched a number of sessions I can say that in debating the various issues put to them the members have shown a high degree of professionalism. One can comfortably say that we have qualified people capable of debating the issues referred to them and issuing the necessary recommendations. Yet I must note that sometimes there seems to be a conflict of interest here. That was particularly evident during one session where the members were discussing communication and mail services.
My attention was drawn to the fact that the majority of the members involved in the discussion were businessmen or others with an interest in having the market opened. This explains the rush toward full liberalization of the market and the creation of new investment opportunities for local and foreign capital. A number of Shoura members have said that since running the mail service costs the state a lot and the sector employs thousands of people, its privatization has become a pressing necessity.
As someone with some interest in economic matters, I have no reservation over freeing the market and letting the local private sector to serve the national economy. They can do this either on an individual basis or through a joint effort with international partners to ensure the transfer of technology and expertise to our country. However, the one thing that I never expected was to see the Shoura Council treat such matter in such a flexible manner that it could reflect negatively on such social objectives as the Saudization drive.
Laying off more than 10,000 mail employees to add to the long queues of the unemployed is not going to solve our problems. I may be wrong in my assessment, but I wish we had a body with the same capabilities as the Shoura Council to counter the kind of arguments being put forward by economists and pressure groups.
Such a body should also provide a balance to the regulations forced on us by such international bodies as the World Bank and other institutions. I wish the voice of the consumer would prevail over that of the businessman. We already have chambers of commerce working day and night to look after the affairs of the private sector.
