hour session, Prince Miqren Bin Abdul Aziz, chief of the Saudi Intelligence Agency, is scheduled to appear in the Shoura Council for the first time to talk about homeland security and the role of Saudi intelligence in international affairs amid a case of turmoil and political unrest in the Middle East. The discussion with the Shoura Council members comes as part of the Council's plans to host officials to talk about the performance of their offices, said Sheikh Saleh Bin Humaid, chairman of the Shoura Council. On a different issue discussed in the last session of the Shoura Council, the Ministry of Commerce and Industry came under fire from angry members for failing to protect the consumer. The criticism erupted when the members discussed the annual report on the Saudi Consumer Protection Society submitted by the ministry. Despite the change of ministers, this ministry has not done any substantial service to protect the public from greedy merchants, many members agreed. “The commerce ministers rather served the companies and their owners, not the average man,” said one member. In its last session, the financial committee at the Council recommended to raise the government home loan provided by the Saudi Credit Bank from SR300,000 to SR500,000. The council refused for four times in a row to hand over the student health clinics from the Ministry of Education to the Ministry of Health. The Council argued the Ministry of Health has been inefficient in handling these clinics.
