Saudi move good for the Gulf

The formation of a new Council of Ministers in Saudi Arabia last week is seen as an interesting development not only for the country but for the Gulf region.

This was a major government reshuffle and related to the formation and restructuring of different ministries. The Ministry of Public Works and Housing is abolished and its responsibilities now go to the Ministry of Municipality and other related departments.

The Ministry of Education and that of Information have been renamed. The Ministry of Industry and Electricity is also abolished with electricity going to the Ministry of Water, which has become the Ministry of Water and Electricity. The Kingdom now also has a Ministry of Trade and Industry along with a Ministry of Finance and a Ministry of Economy and Planning. Earlier, there was a Ministry of Finance and National Economy. Together with the latest parliamentary elections in Yemen and the referendum in Qatar, the new development in Saudi Arabia could be pointing to the road forward. This is what the Arab press had to say.

In its editorial, Al Riyadh (Saudi Arabia) pointed to the domestic role of the new Cabinet or Council of Ministers.

"The restructuring of certain ministries and the unification of their responsibilities by bringing them together and reorganising them serves the working of diverse sectors that were previously divided…"

The daily went on to say that this political development is but one step towards bringing about other "changes" that are not merely changes in "form" but also of "content" that will provide "directions".

Al Riyadh went on to add that the new changes in government are essential because of the development of the economic and industrial sectors as well as that of human resources, that are distributed in different government departments and in the private sector.

Thus, the paper points out there is the need for a new understanding of the changes that are taking place and dealing with these in ways that will help the process of planning and execution.

Hence, what is involved here is administrative reform and realignment. The Saudi daily points to the overlapping of duties and services of education, health and culture, saying it is better to have "one ministry [for each] interest or [even] a single body".

The editorial concludes this is good for nurturing human resources, which is "the basis of comprehensive development".

Al Jazirah, in its editorial, provides another fresh perspective. "…The state is determined to realise the highest levels of 'modernisation and development' in government performance" according to the "dynamics" of the time and in line with "the social, political, cultural and economic trends".

The editorial talks about the importance of the ordinary citizen and his relationship to decisions made by the state, and that he "is "the real indicator of whether a minister stays" in his position.

In this respect, Al Jazirah points out "it is the citizen who is represented in the highest leadership in the land through the Council of Ministers and it is the citizen who is "intertwined with the leader to become one" and "this is a historical perspective of our leadership".

Like Al Riyadh, Al Jazirah says one of the most important developments of the new ministerial formation is the "integration" of some ministries according to their specialisation; giving the public administration a more active role, one with more "services" and better "defined".

The new political development is also seen as a good thing to relocate "financial resources" for the "execution of projects" and build "a modern state, away from "bureaucracy".

There was also lots of commentary, not only in terms of the opinions of ordinary people, but of editorial writers.

Writing in Al Riyadh, Abdallah Turki Al Sudairi saw the formation of the new Council of Ministers within the domestic as well as in the Gulf, Arab and international contexts and, of course, also relating to the case of Iraq.

Al Sudairi says people are asking what is the kind of government that is likely to face all these developments and happenings. In addition, talking about the pressing domestic changes, Al Sudiri points out there is definitely a link between the internal and external issues.

"The new ministerial formation is designed to deal with the Arab, international and local dimensions which are inter-related."

He adds that the new Council of Ministers is not about "names" but about "the kind of modernising of ministries, and of "programmes", something good for the "future".

A different viewpoint is put forward by Mohammed Sulieman Al Ahdeib, also writing in Al Riyadh. He says new governments shouldn't be give timetables. He points out that in the last ministerial changes, the local Saudi media gave the then ministers 120 days before starting to "criticise their ministries..."

"I am totally convinced that every new minister needs between three and four months before he can begin to form an idea…" of what he is facing and "starts putting plans for the changes and at the same time starts with initial and important steps" for his administrative department.

He, therefore, urges the new ministers to be given the required time before "demands" start being made on them and "criticisms" levelled, which nearly always creates disruption of their plans.

Perhaps a perceptive and what he calls a "personal" view is provided by Yusuf Ahmed Al Shirawi in Asharq Al Awsat (UK-based). He starts with the view that changes in governments in the Gulf Cooperation Council come as "no surprise" for the leaderships continue to hold principal portfolios such as defence and foreign affairs.

With regard to the recent political changes in Saudi Arabia, Al Shirawi points out that despite the prevailing trend of "continuation", there is a new spirit and a outlook for change, and a looking towards the future. The new "amendments are geared towards modernisation and renewal".

Al Shirawi notes one of the principal changes is separating finance from the economy portfolio. "This is essential because revenues will decrease in the future - despite the fact that there would be more money - because of the increasing population and increase in aspirations…"

The decision to integrate planning with the economy is one that is related to aspirations and capabilities, he says.

"There is a new comprehensive view of the future." After discussing other ministries, he goes on to praise the new decentralisation process that will start from now.

"Services will no longer be centralised but evolve to "different authorities" in the outlying "municipalities and villages" of the Kingdom. These authorities will be responsible for the handling of their issues. Al Shirawi suggests this is true "democracy".

A flourishing Saudi Arabia is a guarantee of the stability of the Gulf, he concludes.