GOV. ABBA YUSUF SACKS KANO STATE HEAD OF SERVICE . (PHOTO).

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 GOVERNOR ABBA  YUSUF SACKS  KANO STATE HEAD OF SERVICE   The Executive Governor of Kano State, Abba Kabir Yusuf, has relieved the State Head of Service, Abdullahi Musa, of his appointment with immediate effect. In a statement  by the Director General, Media and Publicity to the Governor, Sunusi Bature Dawakin Tofa, the decision is part of the ongoing efforts by the present administration to reposition the state civil service for greater efficiency, discipline, and improved service delivery across all government institutions. Governor Yusuf expressed appreciation to the outgoing Head of Service for his contributions and dedication to the service of the State  The statement further directed that Bilkisu Shehu Maimota, the Permanent Secretary, Admin and General Services at the Cabinet Office, to serve in an  acting capacity pending the appointment of a substantive Head of Service. It notes that the outgoing Head of Service is directed to handover th...

SAUDI MAY ALLOW ALCOHOL SALES TO NON-MUSLIM DIPLOMATS.(PHOTO).


Saudi may allow alcohol sales to non-Muslim diplomats

Saudi Arabia may allow alcohol sales to non-Muslim diplomats for the first time, two sources familiar with the plan told AFP on Wednesday, modifying strict rules governing liquor in the conservative country.

Alcohol “will be sold to non-Muslim diplomats” who previously had to import alcohol via a diplomatic pouch, or sealed official package, one of the sources said.

Prohibition has been the law of the land in Saudi Arabia since 1952, shortly after one of King Abdulaziz’s sons got drunk and, in a rage, shot dead a British diplomat.

Rumours have swirled for years that alcohol would become available in the Gulf kingdom amid a wave of social reforms introduced as part of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s Vision 2030 reform agenda, among them the introduction of cinemas and mixed-gender music festivals.

A Saudi government statement on Wednesday said authorities were introducing “a new regulatory framework… to counter the illicit trade of alcohol goods and products received by diplomatic missions”.

The statement added: “The new process will focus on allocating specific quantities of alcohol goods when entering the Kingdom to put an end to the previous unregulated process that caused an uncontrolled exchange of such goods in the Kingdom.”

The policy “will continue to grant and ensure that all diplomats of non-Muslim embassies have access to these products in specified quotas.”

The statement indicated that not much would change immediately for the vast majority of Saudi Arabia’s 32 million people, who have few ways to imbibe unless they are willing to travel abroad.

Beyond attending diplomatic receptions in Riyadh’s Diplomatic Quarter, they can make homemade wine or turn to the black market, where bottles of whiskey can go for hundreds of dollars ahead of holidays like New Year’s Eve.

– Sensitive subject –

Under Saudi law, penalties for consumption or possession of alcohol can include fines, jail time, public flogging and deportation for foreigners.

Last year, Saudi Arabia was granted hosting rights for Expo 2030 and the World Cup in 2034, further fuelling speculation that the alcohol ban might be lifted, or at least weakened with carve-outs in places like NEOM, a planned $500 billion futuristic megacity.

However given that alcohol is forbidden in Islam, the issue remains deeply sensitive in the country that is home to the religion’s holiest sites in the cities of Mecca and Medina.

Saudi officials had until Wednesday dismissed suggestions of any major policy change.

“The short answer is, we are going to continue with our current laws,” Deputy Tourism Minister, Princess Haifa Al Saud said when asked directly about the issue at the World Economic Forum in Davos in 2022.

AFP

 

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