Ghazi Al-Gosaibi, minister of labor, said recently that there had been a 34 percent increase in the number of visas given by the Ministry of Labor as reported in different local newspapers. However, he emphasized at the same time that this increase did not mean there would be a change in plans regarding Saudization.
The minister drew people’s attention to the fact that in 1428, the ministry approved more than 2.7 million visas in comparison to 1.26 million visas in 1427. The increase was due to the boom the Saudi economy has witnessed and the need for employing more skilled workers.
The minister also stated that the ministry had succeeded in employing 190,000 Saudis over the past two years.
I just want readers to notice the following: In one year the ministry issued nearly 3 million new visas and in the same year it employed 95,000 Saudis.
It means that for every employed Saudi, there are 31 employed expatriates. This is truly an interesting statistic to those who say that we’re moving along the right path. Does the right path require us to employ 31 foreigners before hiring one Saudi? Is this really the right path? Is Al-Gosaibi the only person who should be held responsible?
