In the first week of December, the Saudi Council of Ministers adopted the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s 2024 budget. The budget, which was drafted by Crown Prince Mohamed bin Salman (MBS) and intended to be published as an irreversible royal decision without debate, was approved without any institutional or democratic discussion.
Every country sets its budget with the intention of serving all branches of the government; however, in Saudi Arabia, the budget is solely intended to support the Crown Prince’s 2030 vision, as mediated by MBS’s royally appointed Council of Ministers.
Some noteworthy aspects of the recently approved new budget include the following: MBS allocated approximately 269 billion riyals, or 71 billion dollars, for the military and armament sector, which is equivalent to 21.5% of total spending, an increase in military spending of approximately 8.7% from the current year 2023, according to the 2024 budget. The second thing to note is that MBS spent 195 billion riyals, or roughly 15.5% of all expenditures, on education.
Experts were drawn to the stark disparity between military spending and education sector investments. Some of them said that this proves MBS’s vision was doomed, as in any Renaissance vision, the budget and spending should be directed toward education. However, this is not the case in Saudi Arabia.
Others claimed that MBS tries to alter and enhance his international reputation, particularly in the US, France, Canada, and Germany, by buying the allegiance of nations that supply Saudi Arabia with weapons.
Experts compared the entertainment budget with the education budget, noting that MBS allocated $10 billion for entertainment investments, which threatens to destroy all international economic values. The concept of entertainment in Saudi Arabia differs from that of the rest of the world, as countries create places where people go to go out, but in Saudi Arabia, the government’s mission is to hold entertainment parties and host artists, football players, and dancers.
Human rights activists said that allocating 21.5% of total public spending on the military sector reveals the ugly face of MBS’s regime, which practices, supports, and consolidates tyranny and dictatorship.
This also demonstrates that the MBS regime, which is influenced by the US arms trade, prioritizes security over all other considerations.
MBS asserts that raising military spending will help the Kingdom’s defense industry play a bigger role in the future, but the reality is different because spending is primarily focused on purchases rather than on arming and setting up factories.
The biggest proof of MBS’s lies, however, comes from the Yemen war, where the Kingdom suffered material, security, and neighborly losses that no sane person could tolerate. The supposed American protection did not even help the Kingdom or Aramco, the major oil company and the backbone of the Saudi economy.
