Nomination for election to the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry (JCCI) committee begins Saturday. The process is to elect 300 businessmen and women who, along with other 150 appointed members, will represent different sectors as committee members before government agencies. The JCCI has approved the organization of the election of two thirds of its 25 main committees' members – 12 elected members each plus six appointees – especially as those committees have clearly contributed in resolving several problems of the society's concern during the tenure of the previous board of directors. “The committees are the chamber's backbone because they are directly in touch with people's problems and concerns,” said JCCI Vice Chairman Mazen Batarji. Batarji said if less than 12 were elected the remaining members will be appointed. Dr. Lama Al-Sulaiman, JCCI Vice Chairman, stressed the importance of the fact that the committees must be represented by effective members able to develop their sectors, further improve communication with government agencies and participate in implementing the chamber's strategies in serving the business sector and coping with economic changes taking place in the society. “During the past few days we've organized a number of workshops on the points of strength and weakness in committees' performance during the last four years and we have come out with a clear mechanism that will help us accomplish a great improvement in the chamber's functioning,” she said.
