Preparedness to deal with Umrah rush reviewed

Preparedness to deal with Umrah rush reviewed

JEDDAH: The Cabinet during its weekly meeting on Monday was briefed on plans prepared by various government and private agencies to serve those performing Umrah and visiting the Prophet’s Mosque, which outlines the commitment of the leadership to provide top quality services.

The Cabinet was briefed on the outcomes of the 23rd annual meeting of the region’s governors and decisions taken to improve service delivery and enhance security for citizens throughout the country.

Essam bin Saad bin Saeed, acting minister of culture and information, said the Cabinet also hailed the announcement of the National Transformation Program 2020, part of Vision 2030, for outlining concrete plans to achieve sustainable economic growth in the country.

Saeed said that the Cabinet welcomed the decision by the United Nations to delete the names of the countries involved in a coalition, to restore the legitimate government in Yemen, from a list accusing them of causing the deaths of children in that country. The initial UN report was “not based on accurate and reliable information about the coalition’s efforts,” he said.

The Cabinet announced several decisions, including tasking the General Authority of Civil Aviation to assist in forming a board of directors for Saudi Arabian Airlines, with a president appointed by the prime minister.

The board should consist of four people representing the government and five from the private sector for a period of three years, renewable once. The chairman of the board has to be appointed by the head of the Council for Economic and Development Affairs.

The Cabinet decided to approve the protocol amending the Marrakesh Agreement on the establishment of the World Trade Organization, and authorized the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to sign the document.

The Cabinet further authorized the Ministry of Labor and Social Development to sign a draft executive cooperation pact with Jordan, under the auspices of the Saudi-Jordanian Joint Committee.

The Cabinet also approved the regulations around the 2.5 percent annual tax on undeveloped land in the Kingdom. The most prominent features of the rules include the definition of undeveloped lands as all vacant land dedicated to residential use or commercial residential use within urban boundaries.

The application of fees, to be collected by the Housing Ministry, would be “in stages” outlined as: On undeveloped land of 10,000 square meters and more; developed land belonging to one owner of no more than 10,000 square meters; and developed land belonging to one owner of no more than 5,000 square meters. The ministry would be responsible for penalyzing tax evaders.

Source: arabnews.com