Supporting Entrepreneurs by Small & Medium Enterprises Authority would achieve the Goals of Nationalization
H.E. the Minister of Commerce and Industry Dr. Tawfiq Bin Fawzan Al Rabiah, emphasizes the Ministry's intention to continue its efforts in detecting and controlling those involved in Commercial Concealment in telecomm sectors and others. Meanwhile, the penalties for violating the relevant law may reach to two years imprisonment, and a fine of SR one million for each offender, whether a citizen or an expat, as well as deporting the expat after the end of his sentence, also making defamation against the violators, besides closing the shop and preventing the concealer of exercising the same business for a period of 5 years.
H.E. The Minister pointed out that the Authority of Small and Medium Enterprises is giving special attention and support for the entrepreneurs in the telecomm sector, so as to go on line with the partnership including the Ministries of Labor, Municipal & Rural Affairs, Telecom and Information Technology for the nationalization of the telecom sector and its relevant accessories to achieve the strategic target in supporting the private sector. H.E. pointed out that the concerned authorities, in charge of nationalization, had set up their goals based on the principle of partnership and integration with the said ministries, to follow-up the application of R&R and to carry out the necessary inspection, to verify and ensure commitment with nationalization, also to control and detect any commercial concealment practices.
In the same context, the parties in charge of telecom nationalization held workshops for unifying the inspection and integration process among the concerned parties, in addition to increasing the quality of inspection and field inspectors alike, and work to issue a joint guide that may unite the inspection and integration mechanisms, and to be provided to the concerned inspectors.
The decision of nationalizing the jobs in the telecomm sector aims at creating job opportunities for Saudi men and women, who wish to work in this field, since this kind of job may provide appropriate income and job stability for workers, besides maintaining this vital profession, due to its importance from the security, social and economic point of view.
It is worth mentioning that the above mentioned ministries had given the shop owners a period of (90) days from the enforcement date of the said decision on 01.06.1437 AH, to effect nationalization by 50%, then the whole telecom sector to be fully nationalized on 01.12.1437 AH.