THE government of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques has dealt generously with the citizens and made available all facilities to support the private sector. In addition, the government has made strenuous efforts to eradicate poverty and unemployment by harnessing all available resources to overcome the challenges. This approach has been firmly rooted in all government departments since the time of the Kingdom›s founder King Abdul Aziz (may Allah be merciful to him). It is not surprising that these efforts are reflected in our growth and stability even in times when the Arab and Islamic world is facing huge challenges and passing through serious economic crises. However, problems are expected in the labor sector any time. And perhaps the most serious problem these days is the tasattur (cover-up) business, where foreigners run businesses in the name of Saudis. This has become like a chronic disease that needs direct intervention to root out. I know some people avoid highlighting the symptoms of this disease out of fear, but the risks and harms of the cover-up activities are like insects eating away the bones and thus weakening the body. This disease afflicting the private sector has crippled it and has blunted its ability to grow. For example, the phenomenon is preventing both small and large enterprises as well as the industrial sector from recruiting the required number of foreign workers. We find enterprises classified in the platinum and green categories of the Nitaqat Program waiting for months and years without response after applying for work visas at the labor office. Although the requests pass through procedures to make sure that the required jobs for recruitment are not favored by citizens for cultural and social reasons, putting off their processing pushes the private sector to illegally employ workers available in the cover-up market. Nonetheless, when the concerned departments in the Labor Ministry are confronted on how these violators of the law obtain visas to recruit foreign workers, we will not get a convincing answer. There has to be an intervention to correct this imbalance and the ministry is required to ensure transparency in the issuance of visas for any company by publishing the details on its Web portal for everyone to see. Ensuring transparency will stop the paths leading to any cover-up activity. I also suggest that the services of a foreign worker should not be transferred to a new employer before he completes two years with his original employer. In addition to establishing an efficient electronic system to follow up with every worker to ensure that he works in the same enterprise that granted him the work visa in the first place, the authorities also ensure that they receive their salaries regularly. However, it seems that this system is not applied on violators of the law. Otherwise, there is no justification for the presence of a large number of foreigners who damage the national economy by engaging in tasattur with the support of Saudi nationals. There is no need to reward these people and empower them. They have empowered those who hide behind them and harm the national economy.
