Mohammed Al-Fal Okaz newspaper The very nature of figures is that they are void of passion and feeling. They display solid facts that are not wrapped in pretentious words. The figures are convincing and will settle any differences or conflicts. However, there are some statistics that do not only fail to convince the reader but also drive him to describe them as sheer lies and throw him into the bosom of frustration and depression. An instance of such provocative figures is the statistics recently attributed to the official spokesman of the Ministry of Municipal and Rural Affairs. He reportedly said that plots of land developed for construction in major Saudi cities total an area of 9,000 square kilometers, which is sufficient to accommodate 67 million people. He was also quoted as saying that the ministry had allotted 169 million square meters to construct housing units for citizens. Other figures that also lack credibility include those that speak about the average number of students in each classroom, the annual per capita income in our country, the unemployment rates and others. One does not have faith in these figures because they do not reflect the reality on the ground. Such figures are not only obscure but also misleading. What will a citizen whose hair has become grey while waiting for a piece of land say about these figures? What will the millions of young Saudis waiting for their problem of housing to be solved or for a work opportunity say about these statistics? What will the students who sit in packed classrooms say about the figure concerning the average number of students in each classroom? The problem is that the officials in various departments who release these fancy figures care only about improving the image of their departments. They do not care much about what people really think about these figures, which are a far cry from the reality. They do not realize that the data they release will drive the citizen to lose confidence in the government departments. The huge figures whether in budgets or statistics do not reflect the reality of people's lives. They evoke more questions than answers. What will an unemployed citizen gain when he is told that the annual income per capita of the individual in our country is close to $23,000? The homeless citizen who has spent long years waiting to be given a piece of land to build a house on will be shocked by the figures released by the Ministry of Municipal and Rural Affairs. He will not hesitate to question: Who owns these millions of square meters of land? How did they come to him? What will he do with them? Have the official spokesmen thought of these questions and their negative repercussions on people's lives? The spokesmen should have carefully considered the implications of their incorrect statements for citizens before they dare to make them.
