It is unfortunately the case in Saudi Arabia that those responsible for serious problems frequently escape culpability because of their connections, wasta. Usually it’s family connection, often connections through marriage, but sometimes through tribal origins, business relations, or simple friendship. The lack of accountability is a crippling factor for the Saudi economy and Saudi society. If nothing else, escape from accountability means that there are no ‘lessons learned’ from earlier problems. According to this report from the official Saudi Press Agency, here reported by Saudi Gazette, this SOP (standard operating procedure) won’t be followed in the investigation into what went wrong in Jeddah last week. The King has named an investigatory committee, under the leadership of Pr. Khaled Al-Faisal, Governor of Mecca Province, to look into the disaster. Named to the panel are:
1- Chairman of Control and Investigation (CIP),
2- representatives from the Ministry of Interior including Chief of Civil Defense, Deputy of Makkah Emir, Chief of Administrative Intelligence, and Chief of Makkah Intelligence,
3- a high ranking official from General Intelligence,
4- Deputy Minister of Justice,
5- Assistant Deputy of General Control Court.
I don’t find a forensic economist on the list, someone to track the money intended for flood mitigation and control, and the overall Jeddah sewage and drainage system. Did the moneys allocated for that go where they were supposed to go? Nor do I see any Civil Engineers listed. There was a physical failure of systems, not unlike the failure of flood control in New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina. And what about Geologists, Hydrologists, or even Cartographers?
