JEDDAH: Chairmen and board members of the chambers of commerce and industry around the Kingdom have opposed a proposal made by Commerce and Industry Minister Abdullah Zainal Alireza to appoint 50 percent of the board members.
The minister presented the controversial proposal to the committee of experts at the Council of Ministers but the committee wanted to consult the chambers before taking a decision. Officials of the chambers expressed their satisfaction at the committee’s stand. Saleh Al-Turki, former chairman of the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry (JCCI), said the minister’s proposal would take chambers backward. “We were expecting important decisions from the minister to empower chambers,” he said.
Al-Turki said the minister’s move to change the election systems of the chambers in Makkah and Jeddah were aimed at taking control of chambers all over the Kingdom. Chambers were successful in solving many of their outstanding problems as a result of their good relations with various government departments. He said the minister had intended to appoint half of JCCI board members before the recent elections to the board.
“This move will nullify the efforts of many people who worked in developing the chamber during the past decades,” he added. Naif Al-Odwani, chairman of the Taif Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said the heads of chambers in the Kingdom had moved quickly against the proposal and had set up a committee to meet the minister and present their viewpoints. “The Shoura Council will decide whether to elect all members or increase the number of appointed members.” Abdullah Binmahfouz, current deputy chairman of JCCI, also opposed the proposal including appointment of the secretary-general of the chambers, saying it would make them branches of the ministry.
Alireza presented a proposal to the experts committee at the Cabinet to change Article 16 of the Chambers Law in order to pave the way for the appointment of 50 percent of board members. The committee of experts will hold a meeting on Nov. 1 to study the minister’s proposal in the presence of representatives from the ministries of interior and commerce and other relevant agencies.
The minister has already implemented his proposal at the election to the board of Makkah Chamber of Commerce and Industry, which was held last April when members were asked to vote for only two candidates — one from traders and one from industrialists. During the recently concluded elections to JCCI, board members were given the right to vote for only one candidate.
Article 16 of the law said the board would be comprised of no less than six and no more than 18 members and the minister of commerce would appoint one-third of its members while the general assembly would elect the remaining board members.
