A member of the Shura Council, Dr. Hadi bin Ali Al-Yami, praised the role of the National Center for the Development of the Non-Profit Sector for its remarkable contribution to the increase in the number of registered non-profit organizations to about 7 thousand organizations, with a growth rate of 166%, and an increase in the contribution of the non-profit sector to the Kingdom’s GDP by more than 8 billion riyals annually, and the number of workers in the Saudi non-profit sector facilities has reached more than 72 thousand male and female employees, with a localization rate of 78%.
In his intervention on the report of the National Center for the Non-Profit Sector, he emphasized that the sector is internationally called civil society, and at present plays a major role in serving contemporary societies, and enjoys great credibility at the local or international levels, due to its ability to move quickly to carry out the duties entrusted to it as a result of its liberation. From routine, pointing out that organizations have become a global indicator of the progress or backwardness of societies, due to their enormous ability to interact among societies, and their possession of sufficient capacity that enables them to reach the target groups in the fastest and shortest possible time.
Al-Yami explained that our Saudi society knew from an early age these organizations in spontaneous forms based on the values of cooperation and solidarity. However, the establishment of the National Center for Non-Profit Organizations, which was issued by Cabinet Resolution No. (459) and dated 8/11/1440, was a fundamental turning point in this field, based on his enjoyment of legal personality, financial and administrative independence, and his direct association with the Prime Minister.
He pointed out that the center is an umbrella under which all civil institutions, civil society institutions, charitable associations and all relevant bodies come together, with the aim of coordinating roles, setting priorities, sharing tasks, developing and activating the spirit of volunteering among citizens, which leads to strengthening the national spirit, in addition to supervising aspects of income. and spending banks.
The government attribution project led by the Center is an empowerment of the non-profit sector in several areas. Including assigning government services to non-profit organizations, which is a new practice and a new government approach in accordance with vision initiatives and performance indicators. It is an important step that deserves appreciation for its positive reflection on the role of this sector in supporting various aspects of development.
Openness to international experiences
Al-Yami called on the committee to urge the center to continue evaluating and developing the legislative environment, applying commitment practices to achieve the growth of the sector and actively contributing to the development system, and openness to international experiences similar to the development of the sector and partnership with international expertise houses, studies and knowledge centers in the sector globally, in a way that enhances the Kingdom’s position in this aspect.
He revealed that some licensed associations face a challenge represented in the slow interaction and harmony of some government agencies with the Center in both aspects of approving the licensing of associations or supporting their efforts and activities, calling for the adoption of a recommendation in which the Center urges the establishment of organized mechanisms in coordination with the technically supervising bodies of these organizations, which amount to 28 A supervisory unit, which specializes in supervising non-profit efforts technically and according to its competence, and working to establish governance for the work of these units in order to speed up procedures and support associations, and the need to benefit from specialized qualitative associations that will meet the aspirations of the non-profit sector by assigning services to them and enabling them to be a auxiliary arm for the center to meet the need and seek help With specialized cadres, to meet the Kingdom’s Vision 2030, which is a clear plan for the development and development of the non-profit sector, according to what was stated in the National Transformation Program issued by the National Center for the Development of the Non-Profit Sector.
The Center called for the importance of exercising all its powers and competencies in preparation for studying its transformation into an authority, according to what was stated in its issuance Resolution No. 459, which stipulated a study of the center’s transformation into an authority after 3 years have passed since the start of its work.
