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The Saudi General Auditing Bureau (GAB) has reiterated that the development process in Saudi Arabia is facing a number of obstacles including the poor performance of some government departments.
Abdul Aziz Al Mutairi, an auditor at GAB, said that some government agencies lack clear work policies and practices and their decision-making process is full of bureaucracy. "This leads to the increase of costs," he added.
In his paper at a conference on "Measuring Performance at Government Agencies," held in Riyadh recently, Al Mutairi noted that despite the huge budget allocated for government agencies, their performance is below expectations.
He added that the budgets allocated for health, education and municipal sectors in Saudi Arabia match those allocated by some major industrialised countries for the same sectors.
He cited the damage caused by heavy rains and floods that hit Jeddah last year and early this year, saying that the damage reflected the weak performance of government departments. He noted that bribery and corruption are leading factors for this poor performance.
A GAB official stressed the importance of supporting the monitoring agencies to enable them efficiently perform their tasks.
Evaluation
He also recommends measuring the performance of government departments as well as evaluating the difficulties facing these departments.
Moreover, he recommends the promotion of competition and the enhancement of this competition through things like incentives and awards.
Meanwhile, the Saudi Control and Investigation Authority, a government body, recently said that its field inspections have revealed that some contracts were concluded earlier with contractors, but these contractors have not yet started the projects.
According to the Arabic daily Okaz, in its February 25 edition, the departments which have delayed contracts are the ministries of Municipal and Rural Affairs, Health, Education, Transport, Water and Electricity, Agriculture, Social Affairs, Labour and Higher Education.
Others are the ministries of Islamic Affairs, Justice, Finance and Communications and Information Technology as well as the Authority for Riyadh Development, Sewage and Water department in Ahsa and the Saudi Ports Authority.
The report pointed out that a number of projects approved in the 2009-10 state budget were not yet awarded.
King Abdullah Bin Abdul Aziz issued a royal decree in March establishing an anti-corruption commission to report directly to him. The commission is due to begin its official duties in three months.
Abdul Aziz Al Mutairi, an auditor at GAB, said that some government agencies lack clear work policies and practices and their decision-making process is full of bureaucracy. "This leads to the increase of costs," he added.
In his paper at a conference on "Measuring Performance at Government Agencies," held in Riyadh recently, Al Mutairi noted that despite the huge budget allocated for government agencies, their performance is below expectations.
He added that the budgets allocated for health, education and municipal sectors in Saudi Arabia match those allocated by some major industrialised countries for the same sectors.
He cited the damage caused by heavy rains and floods that hit Jeddah last year and early this year, saying that the damage reflected the weak performance of government departments. He noted that bribery and corruption are leading factors for this poor performance.
A GAB official stressed the importance of supporting the monitoring agencies to enable them efficiently perform their tasks.
Evaluation
He also recommends measuring the performance of government departments as well as evaluating the difficulties facing these departments.
Moreover, he recommends the promotion of competition and the enhancement of this competition through things like incentives and awards.
Meanwhile, the Saudi Control and Investigation Authority, a government body, recently said that its field inspections have revealed that some contracts were concluded earlier with contractors, but these contractors have not yet started the projects.
According to the Arabic daily Okaz, in its February 25 edition, the departments which have delayed contracts are the ministries of Municipal and Rural Affairs, Health, Education, Transport, Water and Electricity, Agriculture, Social Affairs, Labour and Higher Education.
Others are the ministries of Islamic Affairs, Justice, Finance and Communications and Information Technology as well as the Authority for Riyadh Development, Sewage and Water department in Ahsa and the Saudi Ports Authority.
The report pointed out that a number of projects approved in the 2009-10 state budget were not yet awarded.
King Abdullah Bin Abdul Aziz issued a royal decree in March establishing an anti-corruption commission to report directly to him. The commission is due to begin its official duties in three months.
