Hadlaq, Undersecretary for Social Development at Ministry of Social Affairs, has said that new programs focusing on developing national charitable organizations will be implemented soon. He also said that the ministry has prohibited charitable organizations from entering financial speculations because of the many risks involved. “The ministry has adopted an e-project approved by the Council of Ministers last month which allows donors to see where their donations go. Donors can see online the activities of all charitable organizations,” he said. There are 610 charitable organizations registered with the ministry, some concerned with aid, some focus on the physically-challenged and their health, some train and rehabilitate families and others take care of patients with kidney failure disorders, Al-Hadlaq added. The ministry has told all charitable organizations to hire Saudis because of its keenness on Saudization, Al-Hadlaq said. “The percentage of Saudization in charity organizations is high. Non-Saudis are not allowed to work in charitable organizations except for cleaning and unloading works,” he said. The regulations of collection of donations stipulate that an official receipt must be given to the donor or the donations are deposited directly in the bank account of the organization. No donations may be collected at public places or through boxes for raising donations. Al-Hadlaq said the major problem which charitable organizations face is lack of financial resources. But he said that the ministry has allocated SR450 million in form of aid to charitable organizations. The aid was approved by a royal decree in support of charitable organizations. The ministry will offer investment opportunities to help increase the resources of charitable organizations, he added. Regarding the role of the ministry, Al-Hadlaq said that “The ministry together with a professional office specialized in management development has prepared organizational structures and distributed them to all charitable organizations so that each one can choose a suitable structure that will allow it to be organized managerially and financially. The ministry is studying a national project aimed at offering different courses to the staff of charitable organizations, Al-Hadlaq said. The study is in the final stages, he added. __
