King orders stepping up of services at holy sites

Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman has ordered the redoubling of efforts to provide more comfort and reassurance to worshippers during the culmination of the holy month of Ramadan.
The king gave his instructions during a meeting of the Council of Ministers on Monday night at the Safa Palace in Makkah, the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) said, quoting Minister of State Essam bin Saad bin Said, who is also acting minister of culture and information.
Minister Saad said the Council of Ministers “thanked the king for the great attention and care enjoyed by Makkah and Madinah to enable worshippers to perform rituals in an atmosphere of security, peace of mind, comfort and convenience, valuing, in this context, his visit to the city of Madinah and launching of a number of new development projects at a total cost estimated at SR4,114 billion.”
The Council also said the king’s order to provide more than SR1.691 for the beneficiaries of social security aid for Ramadan “embodies the keenness and interest” of the king “to provide a decent life for all families of social security and meet their daily needs.”
It also hailed the preventive efforts carried out by the security authorities to uncover criminal networks schemes, particularly those that seek to flood the kingdom with narcotics and psychotropic substances.
Saudi Customs authorities and Border Guards have intercepted huge hauls of narcotics being smuggled into the kingdom’s vast borders in the past few years. In 2015 alone, 1,776 people were arrested last year for drug-related crimes, including smuggling and distribution, according to the Ministry of Interior.
Saad said the Cabinet was briefed on a number of reports on the current regional and international events and developments, including the fruitful talks held and agreements signed during the US visit of Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman last week.
The Cabinet appreciated the remarks made by UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon during his meeting with Prince Mohammed and in which Ban acknowledged Saudi Arabia’s assistance to displaced Syrians and other developing countries, the kingdom’s regional and world leadership role, and the kingdom’s strong support for the United Nations.
Saad said the Cabinet is looking forward to the results of Prince Mohammed’s visit to France, his meetings with President Francois Hollande and a number of French officials which will discuss the issues and topics of common interest and the cooperation between the two friendly countries.

Measures approved
Minister Saad said the Cabinet, chaired by the king, approved the following measures during the meeting chaired by King Salman:
• Arrangements making it easier for Saudi citizens who are unable to pay their rent.
• Requiring licensed real estate agents to register all rented housing and commercial units' contracts through the electronic network.
• Guidelines for members of the Bureau of Investigation and Public Prosecution.
• Amendment of an article of the consolidated rules of the internal audit units of government agencies and public institutions requiring the units to fully cooperate with the external auditor of government agencies.
• Requiring the minister of Civil Service to report to the king regarding the requests of government agencies to transfer officials of 14th and 15th ranks between governmental agencies and assigning them to work outside their agencies, and in case of approving them, a decision shall be issued by the Prime Minister.
• Appointments of senior officials.
• Changes in the Development Authority of Makkah and Holy Sites:
1. Renaming the Development Authority of Makkah and Holy Sites to the Development Authority of Makkah Region, and modifying its scope of work to include all Makkah Region.
2. Adding the Minister of Municipal and Rural Affairs, the Mayor of Jeddah province and Mayor of Taif province to the membership of the Authority.
3. Separating the budget of the Development Authority of Makkah Region from the budget of the Holy Makkah Municipality.

Source: Arab News