Abdulmohsen Hilal Okaz A recent study that defined the line of adequacy has stirred a lot of debate in society to the point that people have almost forgotten all about the poverty line. The study said the adequacy line is the suitable substitute for the poverty line by which poverty in Saudi society could be measured. The study defines the adequacy line by a monthly income of around SR9,000, which it says is sufficient for a Saudi family of five to live with dignity and honor without needing any assistance from philanthropists or charity gtoups. The study, which was conducted by Sami Al-Damigh and adopted by King Khaled Charity Organization, outlined a number of components for adequacy, which are: food, accommodation, health, education, requirements of infants, transport, accessories, basic services and entertainment. The study said accommodation consumes about 15 percent of a family's income, an average of SR13,900 a year. This means that every family should set aside about 30 percent of its monthly income to be able to pay rent. I do not know how the study reached this conclusion, which coincides with the claims of the Ministry of Economy and Planning that there is no housing problem in the country. Therefore, there is no need for the efforts of the Housing Ministry to resolve a problem that does not exist in the first place. My question to the charity that carried out this research is: What is the size of your donations and assistance to your staff so they can pay rent? What have other charitable organizations done in this respect? I also have a question to the man who conducted this research: How did you pick the 10,000 families used in your questionnaire? Did you visit the people who still live in tents and tin houses? Have you traveled to the remote villages and hamlets where people are still living on mountains? What do you think about the figure that says about 70 percent of Saudis do not own homes? Is SR9,000 enough to sustain a family of five members in Riyadh, Jeddah or any other major Saudi city? Gentlemen, poverty does not need defining. Since the country's father Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah made his famous visit to the house of a poor family and spoke about the importance of eradicating poverty, many officials have recognized that there is a problem of poverty in the Kingdom but have not done anything to curb it. This adequacy line might have been useful to us 10 years ago because today, poverty has taken on a number of forms and shapes. Poverty has changed to include unemployment, rate of inflation, price hikes, debts among citizens and many other factors. These are instrumental factors in determining the line of poverty and adequacy. So, what is the difference between them?
