US and the Gulf

When we read the recent statements of Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al-Faisal and his US counterpart Secretary of State John Kerry on Iran, we can understand that there is a huge gulf between the stances of Gulf countries and the US vis-à-vis Iran’s nuclear program.

Prince Saud’s statement in front of Kerry was clear and frank on Iran’s machinations in Yemen, Lebanon, Syria and Iraq, especially its fight against the Islamic State terrorist group in Tikrit. Prince Saud said: “Tikrit is a glittering example of the fact that makes us worry…that Iran is going to take control of the country (Iraq).”

At the same time, Kerry’s statement in Riyadh does not give a convincing answer to address Saudi concerns. Kerry said: “Let me assure you that we don’t seek a big trade-off. Nothing will change on the second day of the agreement —if we reach one — with regard to other issues that represent a challenge for us in the region.”

However, Kerry said Iran was playing a negative role in the region and he admitted that Tehran had a terrorist role in the region as it sponsored terrorism. So the question is what kind of reassurance the US official can give to the GCC countries. In fact, the joint press conference of Prince Saud and Kerry reflected the differences of opinion and the difficult situation in which the US administration has got into, following Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu’s speech at the US Congress, highlighting the dangers posed by the US agreement to be signed with Iran.

Kerry was trying to give a reply to Netanyahu. Iran negotiates with the US and the West while reinforcing its occupation of four Arab capitals — Damascus, Beirut, Baghdad and Sanaa. If this is the case, what will be the situation after signing an agreement with US?

What we can understand is that the US president is either seeking personal glory without caring about its consequences or does not understand the danger of what he is aspiring for. Actually, an agreement with Iran would be a catastrophe and it would be tantamount to an international approval of Iran’s occupation of the countries in the region and international support to Tehran’s terrorist activities.We can say that the region is heading toward another catastrophe and we don’t know how things will develop once the Obama administration ends. GCC countries cannot imagine Iran becoming a nuclear power. Arabs should also develop a nuclear bomb in order to confront the Iranian bomb. In my opinion, Kerry’s visit to Riyadh was not reassuring but was triggering worries among the Gulf countries.All options are now open for countries of the region to deal with the American move to empower Iran that has brought only chaos and destruction to the region.

— By Tariq Alhumayed, Al-Sharq Al-Awsat

Job market

There will not be any real development without effective participation of citizens, especially the youth who account for two-third of the society. Universities and colleges have been established all over the country to train the youth to take part in the development process.

Here comes the significance of Jazan Economic Forum, which was opened by Jazan governor Prince Mohammed bin Nasser and attended by a number of ministers and senior officials as well as the Education Ministry, Technical and Vocational Training Corporation and Saudi Aramco.

They presented the government’s views on promoting investment and economic and human development in Jazan. During the forum, Labor Minister Adel Fakeih presented an important paper calling for greater efforts to create jobs for young Saudi men and women.

Fakeih disclosed plans to establish 37 colleges of excellence to train more than 13,000 men and women annually to develop various professional skills, focusing on jobs that are badly required by the market. This is an important step toward cutting down unemployment rates among the Saudi youth and confronting the competition offered by expatriate workers.

The main challenge is to transform ideas into real partnership between ministries and relevant institutions and expand cooperation with the private sector. Efforts should be made to create more suitable job opportunities for women to accommodate a large number of female graduates and make use of their capabilities in boosting the Kingdom’s development. Employment is essential for social stability and security. The focus should be on training citizens to take up all vacant positions. Our young men and women have proved their skills and capabilities and specialized training would make them more competent in the job market.

— By Ibrahim Ismail Kutbi, Okaz

Ministers and change

A number of young ministers have been appointed recently to take up different portfolios and we have seen them participating in field works with their staff members. This is a commendable development. At the same time, we see so many bureaucratic practices at government departments despite the application of electronic systems.

Some government departments still follow old systems and they depend on reports issued by officials sitting their rooms without reflecting the reality on the ground. The new ministers should take initiatives to change the situation in their ministries and departments and bring drastic changes, realizing the hopes and aspirations of citizens.

They should also take effective measures to stop corrupt practices in their ministries. Corruption is a cancer that eats away the country’s progress and resources. The new ministers should also conduct inspection tours of offices in different parts of the country to correct mistakes and ensure efficient functioning of those offices. They should also address the issue of free distribution of jobs among tribal and family members in some government departments, especially in remote areas. Some employees come in the afternoon just to put their signature and leave. The ministers can see mistakes continuing in departments without being corrected over the past several years.

I hope all ministers — old and new — would work hard to change the situation of their ministries to the better, achieve their set objectives and realize a better future for the country and its citizens.

—By Abdu Alasmari, Al-Sharq

Increasing working hours

Everybody will agree that the productivity of government employees is low and most of them do not work more than two hours. In some departments, they do not work more than an hour.

The Shoura Council has proposed to increase working hours of government departments to eight hours. But it has not given any effective proposals to increase the productivity of civil servants.

The council members proposed to increase the working hours in order to enhance productivity and development and reduce the gap between working hours in the public and private sectors and help employ a large number of Saudis in the private sector. Studies have found that administrative inefficiency at government departments is the main reason for low productivity.

According to a survey conducted by the Institute of Public Administration, about half of government employees arrive late at their offices, 54 percent of them go out of their offices during working hours either to bring their children from schools or for other private matters, 69 percent remain absent without giving any reason, 95 percent leave offices before time, 22 percent leave two hours before the end of working hours and 12 percent leave three hours earlier.

Reports show that disrespect for working hours is the main reason for low productivity at government institutions. The Shoura Council should have presented its proposals to increase productivity of civil servants before making the new proposal to hike working hours.

— By Mohammed Al-Aufi, Makkah Newspaper

Women’s Day

Today is the International Women’s Day. It gives an opportunity for all countries in the world to study the situation of women, review the achievements made toward protecting their rights.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has said that countries that enjoy high rates of equality between men and women have achieved better economic progress while companies that have appointed more women in leadership roles have achieved better performance.

In order to achieve progress in any country, men and women should work together. This year’s international day for women has come with the title “Right of gender equality ensures progress for all.” This title does not target any particular country or society but aims at boosting progress and prosperity of the whole humanity. I hope there would be enthusiastic local participation in this important international event with active involvement of schools, colleges and universities in order to protect the rights of women.

Societies that oppress their women or consider them as second citizens will not be able to make progress. Gender equality is not only a right but also an economic and cultural requirement.

— By Samar Al-Mogren, Al-Jazira

Traffic rules and Saudis

Respecting rules and regulations is the duty of every citizen. It is also considered as a person’s civilized behavior and one of the best qualities of developed societies. We can see in our society many people who violate regulations, creating a kind of chaos and confusion while negatively affecting the rights and properties of others.

A large number of traffic violations take place on Saudi roads, creating horrific accidents. The question is why some of us violate traffic regulations while inside the Kingdom and respect them while driving in foreign countries? People say it has many reasons, most importantly the lack of a system to punish violators.

Prof. Shukri Al-Senan of King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals, speaks about two triangles that are interconnected. Driver, road and vehicle; and culture, traffic control and road engineering. All these elements should work in a coordinated way to ensure traffic safety.

He said traffic control, monitoring of driver’s behavior on the road, quality of road engineering and the presence of signboards and punishment of violators are essential to enhance road safety. Saudi Aramco employees strictly follow traffic regulations as they have been given training and instructions to do that.

We have to launch a major nationwide campaign to enhance public awareness, especially the youth, on traffic regulations. We should also introduce the point system on drivers to encourage them to follow traffic rules. According to the point system when a driver makes a specific number of traffic violations his driving license would be withdrawn.

— By Hussain Aburashid, Al-Madinah