The Shoura Council yesterday moved several amendments to the existing civil services regulations that included raising the age limit to join the civil service in the Kingdom from 17 to 18 years.
The 21st regular session of the council was held under the chairmanship of Abdullah Al-Asheikh, chairman of the Shoura Council.
The house also agreed to create an operational mechanism and mode for the implementation of best practices and international experiences to combat commercial fraud.
Shoura Council Secretary General Dr. Muhammed Al-Ghamdi told reporters yesterday that the house amended nine articles of the Civil Service Law.
He said the highlights of the amendments include raising the age limit to enter the civil service and annulling the existing power of ministers to authorize civil servants to work in other public sectors simultaneously. The house felt a public servant should not be involved in two functions in separate ministry departments.
Another major decision taken by the council, Al-Ghamdi said, was to allow ministries to advertise their vacancies in their relevant media publications. Ministry vacancies were advertised through the Ministry of Civil Service before.
At present, civil servants who go to jail for various offenses can apply for public sector positions only three years after completion of their jail terms.
Al-Ghamdi explained the house decided such ex-employees can now be re-employed after a gap of 12 months from the time they come out of the prison.
The house also said indicted employees should be given half their salary during their period of suspension (not exceeding two years) and the house agreed to empower the ministry to stop the salary in full if he is found guilty of the charges leveled against him.
The council said there should be a separate ministry for industry to cover all bodies and agencies related to the industry. The house said such a ministry would be able to concentrate more on developing local industry and boost SMEs throughout the Kingdom. At present, commerce and industry are the responsibility of one ministry.
The Council also urged the Ministry of Commerce and Industry to update the Shoura Council on its national program for industrial clusters, on the progress made by the ministry to develop giant industrial projects in the Kingdom and on investment and competitiveness in the petrochemical industry.
The house also approved a draft agreement between the Kingdom and Malta for the avoidance of double taxation and preventing tax evasion.
The assembly also approved a draft convention, consisting of 29 articles dealing with several issues, including maritime and air transport, income from immovable property, government services, and dividends.
The secretary general pointed out this agreement will avoid the negative effects left by double taxation, encourage trade and foreign investment incentives, and ease the tax burden between citizens of both countries.
The council then heard the report of the Foreign Affairs Committee on the draft memorandum of understanding on bilateral political consultations between the ministries of foreign affairs in the Kingdom and Hungary. The board approved the draft memo, which includes six articles.
© Arab News 2012
