الثلاثاء، أبريل 04، 2006

Superfluity

A trillion dollars, which simply means one thousand billion dollars, this is the superfluous amount of the gulf money available at present, especially after the new oil simmer that was witnessed by the world recently.
The figure is awesome. For instance, it exceeds several-years budget of several Arab countries. It also means a chance to provide funds for major Arab projects that can move the entire Arab world from one condition to another.
What we are talking about is “superfluous”, which represents unexpected amounts of money that were not designed as part of any budget or long-term project.
What was the Arabs’ initiative to employ this superfluity?
The Arab summit that was held in Khartoum this week talked about supporting scientific research and providing employment opportunities for the youths. There was also focus on development and progressing with Arab economies.
However, what the economic sources are mentioning in the gulf area is extremely far from this tendency. In fact, it is totally different and bears nothing but disappointment and frustration.
The Arabs are investing these amounts of money in real estates further and further. They are building residential units (250 thousand residential unites in the next years in Abu Dhabi alone). This means wasting the “emergent” Arab wealth on stone and the buildings that will not find anyone to live in them someday.
This is far from future investment and the progression of the growing generations in the shade of the economic relief. What will be of the situation when years of drought arrive?
Mahmoud Raya