Securing Saudi future

For many years — decades, really, — the need for a comprehensive national plan was badly felt. We were the most crucial player in the Middle East, but to the international community we were just another Arab country.
Today we are a country with a road map. It is ambitious and unlike anything we as Saudis ever thought possible. To wean ourselves off oil by 2020, as Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman said the other day on Al-Arabiya, is breathtakingly bold. But even if we achieve just half of that vision, it would be a dramatic step forward.
Think of it as a psychological boost to a country continually attacked by pessimists, both internal and external, and our foreign enemies, who wish the worst for us. Our critics wish for our failure because we are in a state of war and hoped we would fall to the Third-World status amid the plummeting oil prices.
Yet the deputy crown prince, the architect of this vision, has delivered a message to the new generation of Saudis under the age of 25, which make up the majority of the Saudi population that we will become a country that encourages investments, is eager to bring in foreign business, demands transparency, will fight corruption and establish a new narrative that respects the history — both Islamic and pre-Islamic — of the Arabian Peninsula.
The first step is vision, the second step is execution and the third is accountability. Consider corruption that has flourished in this country in many forms. It’s a worldwide problem, but it’s not limited to stealing or swindling people out of their money. It’s the guy that doesn’t show up for work, or is always late. It’s wasta i.e. using influence to get things done. It’s bending or breaking the rules to give some guy a break or to punish him for reasons only known to the punisher. It’s conveniently forgetting there are rules in place for a reason, but implementing draconian changes in a fit of pique over some slight. It’s those small misdeeds that look like nothing, but are like termites that eat at the foundation of the government until it collapses.
I never felt as proud as a Saudi as I was listening to the deputy crown prince about his vision and reading the reports about his road map. The vagueness and opaque system of doing business in the public and private sector appears to be over. People come first and no one is above the law. Skeptical? Consider his remarks that the wealthy use enough energy for up to 20 families. They, according to the deputy crown prince, will be paying their fair share just like everyone else.
There are two elements to the plan that have never before been touched upon by the government. One is the idea of using Saudi Arabia’s geographical location to connect with Asia and Europe and the other focuses on entertainment and museums.
The new generation is more demanding and more interested in our history. They want to visit archaeological sites and see what this region was like before it became Saudi Arabia. We want a museum dedicated to Islam. A testament to a civilized country is its cultural centers and museums. This will be among many early steps toward change and development and I, as a Saudi, hope to be part of it.