Muscat – Since the very first day of his rule on January 11, 2020, His Majesty Sultan Haitham bin Tarik has endeavoured to set up the phase of Oman’s Renewed Renaissance that meets with the requirements of the current period and fulfils the aspirations of the Omani people, while preserving the achievements that took place over the past five decades.

The achievements of His Majesty the Sultan’s reign are amply evident and manifest in every sphere of life in Oman. In these three years, he has sowed and cultivated true faith in the people and is now considered the new father figure of the nation after the late Sultan Qaboos bin Said, who will forever be a torch to guide the nation.

On January 3 this year, during the meeting of the Council of Ministers, His Majesty the Sultan expressed his satisfaction over the nation’s progress with the positive outcome of national action at all levels. He underlined the significance of maintaining the pace in implementing the strategies, plans and programmes aimed at realising sustainable development and preserving the national gains.

His Majesty the Sultan spoke about the efforts undertaken by the authorities concerned to attract more local and foreign investments, develop sources of economic diversification and augment the share of non-oil investments in the gross domestic product.

He gave directives to consolidate investment and diversify its sources, streamline related procedures and address challenges in a way that would reflect positively on investor confidence and enhance Oman’s competitive indices.

His Majesty the Sultan commended the performance of the Oman Investment Authority (OIA) and its ability to realise good financial gains since its inception. He gave directives to channel the OIA’s investments towards achieving added-value in the economy and consolidating production frameworks to augment local content and generate more jobs for citizens.

His Majesty the Sultan also reviewed the outcome of the assessment of performances by various government units in 2022, as prepared by the Government Performance Measurement Unit. This indicated tangible improvement in their performance. He stressed the need to continue upgrading government performances at all levels to achieve the desired goals, visions and aspirations – keeping pace with the global developments. He urged all institutions to study areas of strength and weakness and to find the best ways to address the challenges facing them.

While reviewing the progress made in conducting municipal council elections, His Majesty the Sultan hailed citizens’ earnest quest to engage in the process, both from abroad and within Oman, as they competed to select the members who now represent them in the 3rd term of the Municipal Councils. His Majesty also commended the application of technology which empowered the citizens to remotely vote through smartphones.

While referring to the data on the spread of drugs and psychotropic substances, His Majesty the Sultan valued the efforts made by the departments concerned in combating the phenomenon. He pointed out that a five-year national strategy was endorsed to address drugs and psychotropic substances in Oman (2023-28).

Financial indicators
On November 17, 2022 on the eve of Oman’s National Day, His Majesty the Sultan presided over the meeting of the Council of Ministers during which he took note of the Cabinet’s keenness to monitor and follow up financial indicators in light of positive results achieved by the National Fiscal Balance Programme, which contributed to maintaining the safe financial position of Oman.

In this context, His Majesty the Sultan gave directives to launch the National Fiscal Sustainability and Financial Development Programme for a period of three years starting in January this year. The objective is to make the financial sector a basic enabler for the growth of investments, as well as the economy, in a manner that secures the continuation of all development programmes.

His Majesty the Sultan underscored the importance of completing development projects endorsed for the 10th Five Year Plan (2021-25) and finalisation of the projects as scheduled and within their approved budgets. He also gave directives for the execution of additional development projects alongside those endorsed for execution in the 10th Five Year Plan.

Following the Council of Ministers’ keenness to continue offering necessary support and alleviate the impact of inflation on citizens’ livelihoods, His Majesty the Sultan gave instructions to endorse a number of initiatives that included promotion of 2012 government employees of the civil service system and other systems who are eligible for promotion, effective 2023, and fixing of the motor vehicle fuel prices in accordance with October 2021 rates, as a maximum ceiling, until the end of 2023.

This is in addition to extending gratuity for citizens whose services were/may get terminated until the end of June 2023 and also waiving of outstanding housing loans of employees and retirees of the Sultan’s Armed Forces and the Royal Guard of Oman getting less than RO450 per month.

In pursuance of efforts made to revise the government service fees, the Council of Ministers reviewed the outcome of the second phase of the government services pricing guide project. It was agreed to cancel, reduce and merge government service fees to ensure support for the activities in the economic sector, enhance the competitiveness of the national economy and streamline the government procedures.

Net zero
As part of the Royal attention to improve environment performance and alleviate the impact of climate change, the year 2050 has been set as the target for net zero carbon emissions. A national plan has been drafted to achieve this goal, along with the setting up of Oman Sustainability Centre to undertake the supervision and follow up of zero carbon emission plans and programmes.

During the meeting of the Council of Ministers on October 11, 2022, His Majesty the Sultan gave directives to all units of the State’s Administrative Apparatus to cooperate to ensure the success of this national plan.

Decentralisation
In consolidation of the modern trend on local, decentralised administration aimed at achieving sustainable development, it has been stated that the new Governorates System would seek to boost the role of governors by defining specific specialisations that authorise them to draft budgets and frame development plans of their respective governorates through direct coordination with the departments concerned.

The system also grants the governors direct executive powers pertaining to economic development and the reinforcement of sources of the governorates’ own income, enhancing their competitiveness and encouraging investments so that it helps in realisation of the aspiration and needs of citizens.

In this regard, His Majesty the Sultan gave directives to coordinate and secure full integration among units of the State’s Administrative Apparatus and the governorates to help streamline procedures, facilitate transactions, develop government services and improve their quality and to address the existing challenges.

Social welfare
On May 31, 2022, His Majesty the Sultan hailed the efforts undertaken by the authorities concerned to contain the probable shortage of staple food supplies due to the political situation in the world. His Majesty the Sultan gave directives to sustain efforts and give priority to all matters of relevance to food security.

As per His Majesty the Sultan’s Royal Directives to alleviate the direct impact on citizens of the financial policies undertaken to run the State’s Fiscal Sustainability Scheme and in pursuance of support for small and medium enterprises and entrepreneurs to mitigate the economic impacts of COVID-19, the Council of Ministers presented a number of initiatives and economic and social procedures to the tune of RO130mn to meet the different objectives.

During the Council of Ministers’ Meeting on March 3, 2022, His Majesty ordered to pay an additional allowance to social security categories with the beginning of the blessed month of Ramadan and to work to mitigate the impact of the high prices of goods and services on them.

His Majesty also directed to expedite the review of social programmes and the basis for calculating social security allocations to provide an adequate standard of living for these groups.
His Majesty directed the Cabinet to stimulate the national economy, activate the investment environment, and follow up on commercial and industrial activities and the conditions of private sector companies, to reduce some fees related to the labour sector.

His Majesty prioritised the importance of listening to the needs of citizens and to pay attention to all social sectors, especially for the social security groups and people with limited income.
In light of results of the Assessment of Performance Indicators for the first quarter of 2022 (and streamlining of procedures), which covered all government establishments and governorates, His Majesty the Sultan gave directives to government departments to continue the scheme in order to promote performance and achieve high levels of satisfaction among beneficiaries from public services.

His Majesty the Sultan also extolled the role of Omani media and Omani media personnel in raising awareness among segments of society, besides documenting elements of Omani culture. His Majesty the Sultan affirmed his support for the media and media personnel.