Local press: Foreign manpower and remittances
By DR. ABDUL AZIZ HUSSAIN AL-SUWAIGH | AL-MADINAH
Published: Oct 12, 2011 23:22 Updated: Oct 12, 2011 23:22
I am once again examining the issue of remittances made by foreigners in the Kingdom. There are around 8 million expatriates in the country, of which close to 6 million are employed by the private sector. These foreigners are annually transferring close to SR100 billion to their respective countries.
Rest of this article here: http://arabnews.com/saudiarabia/article516914.ece
In this article, the writer also quotes another writer, Saad Al Doussari saying that: “If the people who received these salaries were our unemployed sons and daughters, would they transfer them outside?”
So, the issues being discussed here are :
1. There are too many expatriates
2. Too much money is sent out
3. Unemployment of Locals
3 Questions:
1. Who brought these 8 million people here, and why? Who hosts them?
2. Why should money not be sent out? What incentive does anyone get to keep their money here? They cannot even call their close relatives on a visit properly to SPEND this money here! Allow all LABOR to bring their wives here on 3-4 month visit visa each year, and see the Amount go down from SR 100 Billion to SR 50 Billion.
3. There is NO country on EARTH that can manage the employment of their WHOLE population without INVESTMENT from foreign entities. WHAT incentive does a foreign company get to come and set up here? How easy is it?
I repeat my solution:
Allow anyone to open a company here and operate with one condition : 80% Saudi Staff.
Allow all Iqama holders , regardless of profession, to invest anywhere, send visa to anyone : Remittences abroad will decrease.
Do not allow locals to “sponsor” people: This causes people to bring in 2-300 people at a time and charge them a fee. This adds to the already growing 8 million population of expatriates in this country.
Finally, I would like to ask Arab News a question: Do you truly just enjoy pointing out the issues and giving numbers? Stating the issue is easy, why don’t you guys give the solutions too? Such issues are ANALYZED. And part of Analysis is conclusion and solution. We never get to read those, sadly.
To tell the unemployed Saudi of the current situation is not helping the unemployed Saudi. To get him a REAL job, IS the solution. Jobs are created when various industries expand and many different types of businesses open up. Please refer to my point number 3 above!
May Allah guide us ALL. AMEEN!
Real Talk Blog : ali shah 
I have been reading about this issue of remittances made by foreigners from the Kingdom for 10 years now. And I’m really sick and tired of it. Everyone has the amount of remittances sent out of the country but no one can give the amount of money being spent in the country by the foreigners and how much profit the Saudi companies are earning due to low paid salaries given to foreigners of Asian countries.
Just to give you an example what is the amount spent yearly on?
-Rent ( which is the main expenditure made by foreigners within the country from which all Landlords earn tax free income and they hardly spend any of it on the maintenance of the buildings, villas, etc.)
Please go see the condition of the buildings and villas where low skill labours live doing jobs which Saudis will never do. –
– Monthly Grocery
– School fees spent and stationary bought within the country
– Cars purchased
– Household and electronics goods purchased
-Amount spent on phone, electricity and gas bills (although it is subsidised by the government but we want know what amount is spent by foreigners)
– Iqama and Exit re-entry fees (often deducted from the foreigners salary)
– Amount spent on travel including the amount spent on products bought by foreigners before they travel to their home country.
-Hospital and medical bills.
-and what is the value of hard work, over time and talent spent by foreigners at work???
All this money goes to the local economy. It’s not like foreigners remit every single penny they earn here.
Please can anyone get the statistics on the above and compare it with the amount remitted. If you can’t then please stop repeating this like a parrot every few months and try to find solutions such as mentioned above rather than blaming others.