QUNFUDAH — People of Qunfudah are reeling from a severe water crisis as the Saudization committee in the governorate insisted that owners of water trucks strictly comply with the job nationalization rules. Residences and schools in the governorate have lately been suffering from a drastic shortage of water, Al-Watan newspaper reported. The Saudization drive has affected more than 3,000 houses in Al-Salama, Al-Fareek, Al-Khadra and Al-Baidain neighborhoods, which depend mainly on water pumped from artesian wells as these areas are not connected to the municipal network. Shyaee Hassan, who lives at Al-Salama, said the problem started after one of the locals lodged a complaint with the governorate against a truck owner who had employed a foreigner in a job reserved for Saudis. The water crisis has escalated since then as the passport police began a crackdown on foreigners who drive water trucks in the area. Hassan said this gave the truck owners a pretext to fleece the customers by increasing the price from SR30 to SR80. Muhammad Balgassim, another citizen, said Saudis invariably support Saudization moves, but the rules should be implemented with discretion after taking into account many factors that directly affect the lives of people. The crisis has forced many residents of the area to buy water trucks from other governorates at exorbitant rates. People have also started storing water to ensure an uninterrupted supply. Commenting on the situation, Ali Bin Muhammad Al-Qarni, head of Heli Municipality, insisted that the municipality had nothing to do with the Saudization policy. “The labor office and the Saudization committee are directly responsible,” he said. Omar Al-Aiyafi, Director of the Labor Office in the governorate, declined to comment, saying he was not authorized to speak to the media. A member of the Saudization committee, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the decision makers are in the process of resolving the problem in conjunction with the committee. He pointed out that tribal chiefs and many prominent citizens had demanded that the authorities find a quick solution to the water problem in the region.
