The analytical reading, issued by Asharqia Chamber represented by the Information and Studies
Centre, yesterday, Sunday, December 25, 2016, the budget for the new fiscal
year 1439-1438(2017), about its coordination in line with the Vision 2030, by
stressing the need to diversify the sources of income and the economic
basis in the Kingdom, considering the budget as a road map to a world economic
power that considers the diversification
of income sources, a goal to achieve, and working on the exploitation of all material
and human treasures owned by the Kingdom.
The
analytical reading, which is in three topics, that the spending priorities in 2017
budget is the first step in achieving the vision goals and enhancing the
overall improvement and development of the structure of the national economy,
as well as improving the competitiveness and continue to enhance the attracting investment environment in all fields ,
noting that the investment allocations in infrastructure, in the sector of infrastructure
and transportation is about 52 billion riyals which is about 5.8% of the approved
budget, which will have a big role in attracting foreign investments, and the
localization of the abroad capitals.
The
reading shows that the budget carries a lot
of advantages of the of efficiency of the performance of the productive
sectors, including the private sector, as an essential partner in the process
of construction and modernization taking place in various regions of the
Kingdom and its cities, as well as the advantages of the continuous economic and structural
reformations, which is confirmed
by the public spending index through the allocation of the advancement
of the human element and the improvement of training and educational and health
services provided, in addition to the infrastructure and the enhancement of the
development of the municipal, social, and water services and sanitation in all
regions of the Kingdom, which provides an advanced and attractive investing environment,
pointing that this budget came to
emphasize the extent of experience and wisdom that by the government in dealing
with the economic challenges, whether local or international, as well as the
durability of the fundamentals of the Saudi economy, despite lowering in oil
prices and increasing regional and international tensions, but it continued with
the developmental approach which
aims to continue to achieve a sustainable economic improvement .
The
new budget emphasizes that the quality of services provided to the Saudi
citizen directly such as health, educational, social and municipal, the water,
sanitation, roads, and all infrastructure projects are out of compromising and
it started from the fact that the Saudi citizen is a
tool and a target in the process of progress, and therefore, the financial
allocations to the crisis have been provided to ensure the quality of those
services, as it allocated to the health sector and social development 120
billion riyals, which represents about 13.5% of the estimated budget, and the
total of what has been allocated to the sector of public education and academic
education and manpower training 200
billion riyals, representing about 22.5% of
the estimated budget, which refers to the further development of the national
manpower and increasing employment.
The
reading shows that the monetary policy by the Kingdom and the presence of a big
cash reserve helped in providing the proper finance to complete the economic progress and taking the appropriate action to face the effects of lowering
oil prices and the results of the global economic crisis, the rapid, helped her
as well as in maintaining the power of the banking sector, stressing the
strength and solidity of the Saudi economy and the quality of economic and
financial policies, and that it is moving in the right path.
The reading concluded that the new budget
included many positive features in many ways, such as the Kingdom seriousness to
achieve a significant increase in the contribution of non oil sectors in the local
production, raising the competitiveness of the national economy and national
products, also the seriousness in achieving the aspirations of the private
sector and investors in
a sustainable progress in the Kingdom, noting that the Kingdom strategies for
improvement led to raise the roof for the developmental
aspirations, and enhanced the competitive performance, which achieves the
desired positive results in various sectors of the Kingdom.
In
conclusion, the analytical reading, stressed that the new budget ensured the
continuation of the balanced development philosophy, by allocating the municipal sector services, including the
Ministry of municipal, villages affairs, the secretariats and municipalities of
about 55 billion riyals, which accounts of about 6.2% of the approved budget
expenses, which enhancing the role of all regions in the
economic and social progress, and not focusing on the development of a region
without the other, to narrow the development gap between different regions,
reducing the concentration of population in the cities in some areas, and defeating
the effects of high population growth in the Kingdom.
