Reasons Behind Qaderbouh’s Decision and Instructions to Suspend Appointments, Contracts in the Public Sector, and Domestic and Overseas Scholarships

The President of the Administrative Control Authority for the Western Region, Abdullah Qaderbouh, has decided to halt the procedures for appointments and contracts in public sector positions until further review, in accordance with relevant legislative provisions.

This decision stems from the increasing number of public sector employees, which has exceeded 2,099,200, and the rise in expenditures under the first chapter of the budget—salaries and related costs—over the past years, amounting to 372,795,500,000 billion. This escalation is attributed to public entities issuing appointment and contract decisions in large numbers and in a disorganized manner, without adhering to Law No. (12) of 2010 on Labor Relations, its amendments, and its executive regulations. This has created financial obligations for the public treasury, including salary releases and financial differences, which the state has been unable to fulfill. Consequently, this has led to disputes and court rulings in favor of the concerned employees due to their established legal rights, which were not compensated for their assigned duties, in violation of the legal principle of “pay for work rendered.” This contravenes the provisions of the State Financial System Law and the Budget, Accounts, and Stores Regulations by imposing financial obligations on the state’s administrative apparatus without corresponding financial coverage, and without utilizing the surplus workforce in the Ministry of Civil Service by reallocating qualified personnel in compliance with Article (161) of the aforementioned Labor Relations Law.

Additionally, the Authority has observed that many public entities have exempted their employees from proving attendance and departure due to the Ministry of Finance’s Budget Department not releasing their salaries. Despite this, demands for their financial entitlements continue without any contributions to the public sector, even though Circular No. (4) of 2022 from the Minister of Finance in the Government of National Unity obliges all entities funded by the public treasury to adhere to spending within the allocated budget limits. It also prohibits creating any financial obligations without corresponding financial coverage and forwarding any financial claims to the Ministry that are outside its jurisdiction. This situation has disrupted the functioning of the state’s administrative apparatus, burdened it with enormous financial commitments, and drained the resources of oversight bodies as they investigate and address employee complaints and claims regarding financial entitlements.

Moreover, Qaderbouh has issued instructions to the Prime Minister of the Government of National Unity and the Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research to suspend the issuance of scholarship decisions, both domestic and overseas, until all existing financial obligations related to the Ministry are settled.