The Ministry of Municipal and Rural Affairs has criticized the Saudization scheme of replacing expatriate employees with Saudi nationals, which has resulted in a shortage of experts in many positions, a section of the Arabic press reported on Saturday.

In a recent report quoted by the Makkah Arabic daily, the ministry said that many Saudi employees are specialized in fields that are mostly needed in the private sector. This causes many Saudis to resign from ministry jobs and take up positions in the private sector.

The report also stated that the ministry is finding it difficult to employ experienced expatriates due to the low salaries being offered to them.

It also complained about the Ministry of Labor’s delays in finding employees for vacant positions.

“The Ministry of Labor has not responded effectively to recruitment requests to fill some jobs.

“In addition, the allowance is so low that many employees refuse to work on deputation,” the report said.

It noted that travel and living expenses for employees outside their work place exceed the allowances they are paid.

The report expressed the ministry’s concern about the shortage of approved jobs.

“A shortage of qualified employees results in deficiencies in municipal duties and monitoring activities. This has caused many municipalities to assign additional duties to their employees, many of which do not fall under their respective area of expertise,” the report added.

 
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