Some time ago I read in several newspapers local and foreign that the money wealthy Saudis have invested abroad is estimated to be in the region of $600 billion. This works out to about SR2,250 billion. The zakah on this enormous sum is about SR56 billion per year.
Where is all this money? Why is not some of it being spent in this country? Think, dear readers, how much good even part of this money could do if it were spent by its owners on alleviating some of our country’s problems.
Why aren’t they doing this? What is stopping them? Do they care?
As I was thinking about this matter another thing occurred to me. I started to wonder why the wealthy of this country are not doing enough to address the problem of Saudization.
One of the greatest challenges facing us today is the problem of absorbing the hundreds of thousands of young men and women into our society in a productive and harmonious manner by providing them with decent jobs. It is estimated that the number of Saudis currently employed by the private sector does not exceed 15 percent of the work force. This dismal state is after ten years of the government’s efforts to encourage the hiring of Saudis into the work force.
Why have the wealthy done so little to provide jobs for their fellow citizens? I ask you, is it possible that 85 percent of Saudis are completely useless and unemployable? Is it reasonable to believe that our educational system is so terrible that most Saudis are totally without any skills?
This, dear readers, is utter nonsense.
I speak from personal experience, as my own company, which deals in a highly sensitive and sophisticated field of information technology, has reached 80 percent Saudi employment.
By the way, I and most of my Saudi colleagues are entirely products of the Saudi educational system, from kindergarten to university. I have found Saudi employees, both men and women, to be in no way inferior to their non-Saudi colleagues. My Saudi colleagues are an example of dedication and professionalism. They work very hard and with little complaint and I have absolutely no hesitation to hire more.
It is time for the wealthy amongst us to cease their endless moaning and complaints and start to contribute according to their vast resources to the development of their country.
It is with the wealthy of this country that a great deal of responsibility lies, and that is because they have been blessed with so much.
The late President Kennedy once said, “Ask not what your country can do for you. Rather ask what you can do for your country.”
