The recommendation was made during the council’s 42nd regular session presided over by Dr. Abdul Rahman Al-Barrak, the Shoura Council’s deputy chairman.
Muhammad Al-Ghamdi, secretary-general of the council, said that these logistic arrangements should be made in the interest of both pilgrims and residents. A reduction in the number of vehicles entering the holy city will help facilitate the smooth operations of ongoing expansion programs.
The house recommended severe penalties for motorists who commit violations within the holy city.
Based on a report from the Committee on Security Affairs, the members unanimously approved a draft memorandum of understanding (MoU) for cooperation in the field of civil defense between the ministries of interior in the Kingdom and Yemen.
Arising from discussions related to the Ministry of Labor’s annual report, the house emphasized that the private sector should be encouraged to take on more Saudi youths to help lower unemployment.
“Local human resources should be trained according to their skills and aptitudes and they should be placed in various sectors both in the Kingdom’s private and public sectors,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Kingdom’s mortgage law will be submitted to Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah for approval after the Shoura Council completes its discussions next week, a senior member of the council was quoted as saying on Monday.
The country has never had legislation covering mortgages and property finance; the new law will regulate the use of mortgages, which means finance and leasing companies will be incorporated.
“This will be the last time for the Shoura Council to ever discuss the mortgage law before the king gives his final word on it,” said Saad Mariq, deputy chairman of the council’s Financial Committee, in an interview with Bloomberg.
The Shoura will discuss the mortgage legislation along with four other laws that will regulate lending in the real estate industry. All four laws will then be submitted to the king, he added.
The mortgage law, which has been in the planning stage for almost a decade, was supposed to have been implemented last year. The Cabinet recently sent back the bill to the council after it disagreed with some of the provisions.
Mariq said according to the Constitution, if the Cabinet returns any bill after it was passed by the Shoura, it will be submitted directly to the king after amendments.
Saudi Arabia, the Middle East’s biggest economy, needs 1.2 million new homes by 2015, according to Deutsche Bank AG research, with the enactment of the proposed mortgage law seen boosting demand by an additional 55,000 units a year. It is expected to spur lending in the Kingdom, which has slowed since the onset of the global financial crisis.
