Qaisar Hamid Metawea Al-Madina I say it with absolute confidence that the ministerial portfolio is no longer as glamorous as it used to be in the past. Since Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman assumed power, the chair on which the ministers used to sit from their early youth till their old age does not exist anymore. A minister may not now sit on his chair for more than few months sometimes. This in itself is unprecedented. It is crystal clear now that the slogan of the next phase is “it is only the achievers who may remain on their chairs”. There is no longer any immunity for the ministers or guarantee that they can sit long on their chairs except their achievements for the country and its citizens. Since we are now in the era of transparency, it is therefore imperative for every minister and every senior government official to be transparent with the citizen. The minister should inform the citizen about the achievements of his predecessor so that he/she will have complete knowledge of what has really happened. We should not pin false hopes on the new minister so we do not wake up tomorrow shocked by the reality. The problem with us is that the citizen is totally unheeded by some government sectors. He or she is not the focus of their attention. The officials do not often communicate with the citizen in a proper manner. The new official or the successor does not inform us about the achievements made during the time of his predecessor to know where we stand exactly. The successor is usually oblivious to the achievements of the man before him and he, on his part like his predecessor, will start giving promises that are never realized. He will keep doing this until he leaves office. We will be in the dark not knowing who has accomplished what. For instance, the former housing minister Shuwaish Al-Duwaihi was relieved from office and Essam Bin Saeed appointed in his place. In fact we have no idea what the previous minister, who stayed for four years in office, has accomplished. All that we heard from the ex-minister were promises to solve the problem of housing. Therefore, we expect the new minister to inform us about the achievements of the former minister to solve the issue. The new minister should also tell us how long we have to wait now for the problem to be solved. It is our God-given right to know. On the other hand, Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus has reemerged again after it was contained during the time of Adel Fakeih when he was acting health minister. The disease came again after Fakeih had left office. We have a right to know from the incumbent Health Minister Ahmed Al-Khateeb what had exactly happened after Fakeih had left office? What has happened during the time of his predecessor Muhammad Al-Hiazaa? We have a right to know why the disease came back again. This disease had killed a number of people and it is still doing so. We are now in the age of transparency. We have every right to demand that ministers and officials communicate properly with us. It is their duty to openly inform us about the achievements of the ministers who were before them on the chair in addition to their own accomplishments.
