Mohammed Bin Solaiman Alehaidib Okaz NOT so long ago, the service ministries used to put the blame for their failure on the shortage of finances. You would often hear them say: "We have not enough finances or there are not enough provisions in the budget." Now that we have a surplus budget and money unprecedentedly is overflowing, these ministries have changed their lame excuses to: "There is not enough space". They seem to forget that we are a country similar to a continent in its size. I strongly believe that most of our shortcomings in the basic services such as education, health, social affairs, water, electricity and others are caused by the simple fact that we have not set our targets. We are racing without determining the finish line. Every minister decides for himself a road map which is different from that of his predecessor. The new minister will keep racing without any knowledge of the "targeted number, the required quality or the type of service". We do not have a compass to show us the finish line. We do not want to follow the path of those who were before us. This is a big problem. If we had defined our targets and aims we would not have continued to house our schools in dilapidated rented buildings. We would not have government hospitals refusing treatment to about 70 percent of our citizens. If we had followed a proper path, we would have ended with an integrated health insurance system similar to Japan, Malaysia or Germany. Our orphans, the poor, divorced women and physically and mentally abused women and children would never have suffered the way they are suffering now if we had benefited from the experience of advanced countries in these fields. We would not be using tankers to bring us potable water or to drain our sewage water if we had worked hard like other countries which lag behind us in financial resources, yet are far ahead of us in providing services. Our problem, therefore, is not a lack of finances or the shortage of land. Our problem lies in our human resources who seem fit, qualified and competent, but when placed in high positions, they concentrate their efforts on achieving personal ambitions rather than the interests of the public. They rely on lame excuses to blame their failures, while ensuring that their personal advancement is at its peak.
