Shoura demands independent monitoring of Aramco’s sales

22/10/2014 07:01 AST

During the Shoura Council’s session on Monday, members of the council accused those in charge of the “Hadaf” program under the Ministry of Labor of wasting millions of riyals on systematic errors in Saudi Aramco’s sales saying that these errors had been proven by the performance indicators of the Human Resources Development Fund (HRDF).

Others demanded effective monitoring of Aramco’s sales.

Council members, Sadaka Fadel and Ahmad Al-Ghamdi asked that the budget of Saudi Aramco be closely monitored especially in light of reports of the smuggling of petroleum products over the last two decades.

“In 2008, the amount of misused funds reached to about SR18 billion,” Al-Ghamdi said. During the discussion of the Hadaf program report, council members agreed that the HRDF should give an explanation for the findings of the report.

The report reveals that despite the large investments in the employment market, the performance indicators show poor outcomes in terms of a solution to the problem of unemployment.

The report also indicates that hundreds of millions are spent on research, consultancies, and studies, but there is little improvement with regard to unemployment rates, claimed council members.

Dr. Abdullah Aljghyeman observed that the proportion of unemployed women stands at 80 percent according to the HRDF indicators while the training and recruitment of men also amounts to the same proportion.

“Only 40 percent of trainees have completed the training program,” he noted adding that the Fund’s vision to build a stable and productive workforce had some way to go before it could be realized.

Meanwhile, council member Hatem Marzouki suggested that petroleum be sold at international prices and the gains from the sales be directly made available to the Saudi citizens. He argued that according to the current system, the profits from petroleum products were benefiting residents, violators of residency regulations and smugglers.

Dr. Sadaka Fadel also called for independent monitors on oil products from outside the Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources and suggested that all sales by Aramco be monitored closely to ensure there are no violations taking place.

He said the company’s budget is not subject to control by legislative bodies despite its being responsible for 80 percent of the national income.

Arab News