The government official sitting in his office looked at those around him and said: “This is an order: I want my page to be clean as far as onlookers, inspectors and officials are concerned”.
This was greeted with warm applause by those in attendance. The official looked around. Some of the people attending the meeting may have thought of the importance of cooperation with the official for public good. There was endless silence. The discussion itself had opened the door to boredom.
Mobile phones were barred in this meeting.
“Pay attention, the decisive moment is coming to my mind. I have a strong desire for developing and upgrading everything,” the government official said.
A talkative official attending the meeting ventured to ask the government official whether he was talking about the condition of streets.
Roads that “we do not know where they start or end”, the eloquent official said. “Do we mean we need to redesign these streets?”
“Do you mean our hospitals, outside which citizens stand in long lines until their turn comes, in the absence of enough beds and space?
“What kind of development you are talking about? Tell me exactly,” another eloquent official asked.
Another man attending the meeting had nothing but praise for the streets of this country. He said the streets were straight and well-decorated.
“You are either not convinced or aware of the millions of riyals spent on construction of demolished roundabouts in the sun and during rush hours,” the man said.
“These people call the chaos they create a summer upgrade and development,” the man said.
The government official, however, was quick to ask those present to think more and search for things that were more important and exciting. He said this was important for them to find things to write about in their report.
“Spend the money you have in your pockets. God will send you more money”, the government official said, quoting a famous Arab proverb.
“The real loss is the loss of life,” the government official said, quoting another famous Arab saying. “Don’t ask me to rationalise my spending. I have done this enough already,” the man added.
For one of the hypocrites, austerity was synonymous with reality. To say the truth, everything is clear now. We are learning how to spend millions of riyals in the blink of an eye. How prices are inflated in front of law-enforcement officials. Projects are not completed on schedule. Showing the realities will reveal how some skilful people invent the need for the implementation of specific projects that swell their wallets at the end of the day.
All files must be reopened from the beginning. You need to think of how you can fight corruption and put an end to wasteful government spending so that planning can reach standard levels. Some government projects are still full of errors. The problem is not supervision.
To sum up, citizens sometimes ask why it is necessary for us to reduce spending when we are in a good financial condition, and why should the government save?
