A member's derogatory comment about the authority of the Shoura Council provoked the anger of Chairman Abdullah Aal Al-Sheikh on Sunday during the Council session. Shoura member Abdulrahman Al-Inad said that the Council just approves major decisions by other higher government bodies without having a say in them. “The job of this Council is actually to blindly approve whatever documents are submitted to it,” Al-Inad said during discussion of the 9th National Development Plan, which was reviewed by the Shoura's Economic and Energy Committee. The Shoura gave a passive review of the plan without having a single comment, reservation or even a suggestion to modify parts of it “as if it were the words of the Holy Qura'n,” Al-Inad said. The Council's role should go well beyond approving the five-year national development plan done by other government departments, he added. “The plan is very ambitious and if it doesn't meet its objectives, those who have made the plan should take a five-year break,” said Al-Inad, who believes the country suffers from problems with public services, education and employment. During his comments to the fellow members, Al-Inad questioned the department that would be in charge of building one million housing units as specified by the plan. “Is it going to be the government or the private sector?,” he asked. “How are they going to do it?” Aal- Sheikh replied that the Shoura's Economic and Energy Committee has recommended that Council to approve the plan as is, “and that's its legal right.” It is still a recommendation of approval that does not mean an automatic approval by the Council, he said. The committee had earlier approved the plan without reservation. The committee only recommended that the plan should go as scheduled and urged government departments to work closely together to ensure that the objectives are reached. The Shoura Council does not receive orders of automatic approval and all members have the right to speak up against any reports or plans submitted by other government bodies Meanwhile, another member Hassan Al-Shehri suggested the formation of a national infrastructure commission as government departments have failed to deliver a good infrastructure. Member Sadaqa Fadhel attacked the education system that has for decades failed to reach national expectations despite the expanded network of schools. “We still have a significant rate of unemployment among Saudis and an ever increasing number of foreign laborers amid failing strategy to replace foreign work force with Saudi work force,” he said.
