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Saudi Arabia
The Civil Service and Independent Agencies
The nine-member Civil Service Board, responsible to the Council
of Ministers, exercised formal authority over the employees of
all ministries, government organizations, and autonomous agencies.
It presided over the Civil Service Bureau, which implemented the
decisions and directives of the Civil Service Board that pertained
to grade classification, pay rates, recruitment and personnel
needs, and personnel evaluation. Beginning in the early 1970s,
the number of civil service employees in Saudi Arabia increased
dramatically as the government expanded its social services. By
1992 an estimated 400,000 persons were government employees, including
about 100,000 foreign nationals.
During the 1970s, the number of autonomous agencies also expanded.
Although most of these agencies were under the administrative
auspices of a particular ministry, each agency had its own budget
and operated with considerable independence. Several agencies,
including the General Audit Bureau, the Grievances Board, the
Investigation and Control Board, and the Organization for Public
Services and Discipline, were not attached to any particular ministry.
The latter three agencies were responsible, respectively, for
hearing complaints of misconduct by civil service employees, investigating
complaints against government officials, and dispensing disciplinary
action against civil servants judged guilty of malfeasance in
office.
Civil servants were classified either as government officials
(professionals who comprised three-quarters of total government
employees in 1992) and lower-paid employees. All civil servants
were ranked according to grade, and advancement depended on merit
and seniority. Training was provided within each ministry and
at the Institute of Public Administration, an autonomous government
agency with its main training center in Riyadh, and at branches
in Jiddah and Ad Dammam.
Data as of December 1992
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