Saudi king makes key cabinet changes
King Salman replaces minister for labour and social development in key changes to cabinet
Saudi king Salman Bin Abdul Aziz announced key cabinet changes yesterday with a heavy focus on culture and religion. He replaced the country’s labour and Islamic affairs ministers — and named Prince Badr Bin Abdullah as culture minister.
Saudi Arabia for decades has combined its culture and information ministries. The decree announced the culture ministry was now a separate entity under Prince Badr.
The royal orders saw the appointment of Ahmad Al Rajhi as minister of labour and social development, replacing Ali Al Gafees. Abdul Lateef Al Shaikh was appointed minister of Islamic affairs.
Al Shaikh headed the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice, whose powers were seriously curbed two years ago as the kingdom embarked on a massive reform drive.
King Salman also appointed Nasser Al Dawood as deputy interior minister, and Abdullah Al Motani as Shura Council deputy chairman.
The Saudi monarch ordered the formation of a royal commission for Makkah and the holy sites, whose members will be appointed by King Salman, who is also the country’s prime minister.
Saudi King Salman Bin Abdul Aziz has made key changes to the cabinet, giving Prince Badr Bin Abdullah Al Saud the portfolio of the newly-established Ministry of Culture, which was separated from the Ministry of Information and Culture.
This is the second significant government change since the appointment of Prince Mohammad Bin Salman as the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia.
All activities relating to culture will be transferred to the new ministry in a move that highlights the growing significance of culture in the kingdom.
Prince Badr’s main challenge will be capturing more of Saudis’ spending on leisure and keeping it at home by expanding range of entertainment options. The prince was appointed chairman of the Saudi Research and Marketing Group in 2015.
The Riyadh-based group publishes newspapers including the pan-Arab, Londonbased Al Sharq Al Awsat.
The royal orders yesterday saw the appointment of Ahmad Al Rajhi as minister of Labour and Social Development, replacing Ali Al Gafees, who had been labour minister since December 2016. Before him, Mufrej Al Haqbani served in the post from April 2015.
Al Rajhi will aim to succeed where his predecessors failed. His tasks will include reducing an unemployment rate of 12.8 per cent at a time the government tightens subsidies and curtails spending.
The government has pushed companies to replace foreign workers with nationals and limited hiring in some sectors to citizens.
Powers curbed
Abdul Lateef Al Shaikh was appointed minister of Islamic affairs. Al Shaikh headed the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice, whose powers were seriously curbed two years ago as the kingdom embarked on a massive reform drive.
King Salman also appointed Nasser Al Dawood as deputy interior minister, and Abdullah Al Motani as Shura Council deputy chairman.
The Saudi monarch ordered the formation of a royal commission for Makkah and the holy sites, whose members will be appointed by King Salman, who is also the country’s prime minister. King Salman also issued a directive to form an administration for preserving historical areas in the Red Sea city of Jeddah, which will be affiliated to the Ministry of Culture.
Under the royal orders, six nature reserves have been designated “to re-establish wildlife, enhance their development and promote ecotourism”. The reserves are believed to have an area of around 265,000 square kilometres.
The royal decree also named several deputies for the ministries of interior, transport, telecommunications and energy as well as industry and minerals. It appointed new heads to two government bodies — the Royal Commission for Jubail and Yanbu, and the King Abdullah City for Atomic and Renewable Energy.