Rashid Al-Fouzan Al-Riyadh newspaper The findings of a recent study conducted by the World Bank in collaboration with the Ministry of Economy and Planning indicating that the Hafiz and Nitaqat programs enhance unemployment raises a number of questions. Is it true that the Hafiz stipends encourage beneficiaries not to work? Is the monthly payment of SR2,000 adequate to discourage a citizen from looking for a job? Will the fund enable him to meet the rising expenses of daily living? I do not believe this to be true. SR2,000 does not represent an income on which a family can live on. It may be enough for men or women who do not want to be employed as long as they will get a salary at the end of the day from Hafiz. The fact that Hafiz salaries will continue for a whole year has consolidated the determination of the beneficiaries not to look for jobs. This has added new figures to the rate of unemployment but I do not think it is a realistic number. The World Bank study sees no value for Hafiz and Nitaqat in boosting employment. This is their opinion. They must have their own reasons. We must recognize that some people do not find jobs either because they have no proper education, or because there are too many conditions placed for a job vacancy. Factors such as proximity to work locations or salaries offered also have an impact with some people. These people do really exist and they add up to the rate of unemployment. In my opinion, these people need training and rehabilitation to start working without preconditions. We must recognize that Hafiz or Nitaqat will not put a final seal on the problem of unemployment. Government decisions alone will not guarantee solutions. There should be a comprehensive program to end unemployment, including greater awareness among citizens against Tasatur (foreigners running businesses in the name of Saudis in return for a regular payment). There will be no Tasatur if there are no Saudis facilitating it. The youth must be taught to develop small business enterprises so as to begin and grow with it. We also must encourage women to work by providing them with transport, feasible salaries and real job opportunities. We should not send women for employment to remote places, and make them spend most of their salaries on transport. I am sure that the citizens want to work and improve their financial conditions. We must therefore work on a number of tracks and not to be content only with the government programs. Here comes the role of the media, the citizen himself and the businessmen. We should not totally depend on government decisions and support but must work for Saudization of jobs and enable citizens to perform jobs that expatriates now hold under Tasatur.
