Times of Oman - August 3, 2016

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WEDNESDAY August 3, 2016 29 Shawwal 1437 AH

FROM THE WORDS OF HIS MAJESTY THE SULTAN

On the occasion of the 10th National Day, 1980

‘His Majesty’s Wisdom’ We must exploit our country’s other natural resources and our industrial potential to the full. Founded 1975 . Volume 41 No. 137 | 36 Pages . Baisas 200 . Subscription OMR63 | ISO 9001:2008 Certified Company | Chairman/Editor-in-Chief: Mohamed Issa Al Zadjali | Printed & Published by Muscat Media Group

CABLE

HM receives thanks from Abbas MUSCAT: His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said has received a cable of thanks from President Mahmoud Abbas of the State of Palestine, Chairman of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organisation, in reply to His Majesty’s condolences cable on the death of his brother Omar Abbas. In his cable, President Abbas expressed his utmost thanks and appreciation for His Majesty’s sincere condolences, praying to Allah the Almighty to protect His Majesty the Sultan and the Omani people. -ONA

MORNING MINUTE

TIME FOR EXPAT BOSSES TO MOVE ASIDE? Top expatriate employees aged over 60 years are in the firing line after a new ruling

TOP THREE INSIDE STORIES

to boost Omanisation at senior levels

OMAN

Turkish envoy thanks Oman for support

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Uğur Doğan, the ambassador of the Republic of Turkey to the Sultanate of Oman, thanked Oman on Tuesday for its support during the coup attempt in his homeland. >A3

HASAN SHABAN AL LAWATI

hassan@timesofoman.com MUSCAT: Expat bosses, especially those over the age of 60 working at government-owned companies, are on borrowed time, according to a Majlis Al Shura member after a recent directive signed by a top-level minister.

According to the new ruling, signed by Darwish bin Ismail bin Ali Al Balushi, Minister Responsible for Financial Affairs, the government is aiming at improving Omanisation rates of senior roles within a decade. Currently, 72 per cent of senior staff over the age of 60 in Oman are non-Omani in some govern-

OMAN

FAHAD AL GHADANI

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fahadnews@timesofoman.com MUSCAT: An eight-year-old boy has died after he drowned in a farm pond, according to the Royal Oman Police. The tragic accident happened on Monday evening, at a farm in the Dot area of Dhank, around 312km

MARKET

State-owned firms plan to raise funds Oman currently coolest in GCC

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ILLEGAL TRADE

SQU orders probe into reported sale of college courses online HASAN SHABAN AL LAWATI

hassan@timesofoman.com MUSCAT: Free college courses at the Sultan Qaboos University (SQU) are being traded online by senior students. The free to enrol governmentfunded university has launched a probe after some senior students booked places on courses with the sole intention of selling those places to junior students. At SQU, students preparing to graduate and entering the final year of study are allowed to access the online booking system for courses one day early, in an effort to ease their final year course choices. But some students are blockbooking courses open to all years so that they can sell the seats to freshers. The university has issued an online warning against the “trade” in seats. SQU’s Deanship of Admissions and Registration issued a statement on Monday which read: “Students are not entitled to reg-

other private companies are following the same trend or are planning to do so in a bid to contribute to the Omanisation strategy. “The private sector here is planning seriously to hire skilled Omanis for senior positions. I think this can also happen in the government sector,” he added. In the recent ruling, the Ministry of Finance explained that under the efforts made to raise the production quality in the companies owned by the government and under the Oman Labour Law issued under a royal decree, a report has been compiled by the State Audit Institution evaluating Omanisation and the measures adopted by the companies to it. >A6

8-year-old boy drowns in Dhank

Complaints registered through the online portal are expected to rise as an online platform to lodge labour complaints is available in English. >A6

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Sultanate has a large number of Omani workforce that can meet the government companies’ needs. “We need to put Omanisation in these companies as a priority in our upcoming strategies,” he explained. Ali Shaban, general manger of human resources at WJ Towell echoed Al Lawati saying that exchanging expatriates in senior positions with qualified locals is a vital part of the Omanisation plan in the country. “We have started training Omani bachelor students who got high GPA (above 3) in a number of professions like account so we can later on hire them in managerial positions in our company,” Shaban said. He added that many

WAT E R P O O L

Now lodge labour complaint in English

Several state-owned companies and private firms in Oman plan to raise funds from overseas markets in 2016. This is a diverse pool of fresh liquidity. >B1

ment sectors. The ruling, contained in a circular issued on July 20, instructed governmentowned companies to create a fiveyear plan to replace expats with nationals. In the wake of this, Tawfiq Al Lawati, head of the economic committee at Majlis Al Shura, has called on all government firms to plan and replace expat employees over the age of 60 with well-trained and younger local expertise. However, Al Lawati said depending on Omanis to fill the gap should not be an unplanned reaction to the current figures. “Qualified Omanis should take training courses in management before substituting expatriates,” he said, while explaining that the

ister for un-needed courses (elective or primary) in order to trade them. “Any student who does so will be subjected to legal accountability and will face disciplinary actions according to the Sultan Qaboos University (SQU) rules.” Since the registration period opened on Sunday, a number of students have been complaining about senior students who register unnecessary subjects through the online portal in order to sell them later to the juniors. Courses like Arabic and Om-

ani society and some other electives are available for students of all years. Some students said on social media that their senior peers are even reserving courses for school graduates who have not joined a college yet. The registration system at SQU gives priority to senior students to register subjects online as they are given a chance to access the portal a day ahead of the others. While the system was designed to facilitate their final year and ease their graduation process, some are taking advantage of the system to cash in on the needy juniors. Students from the 2011 batch finished registering last Sunday; 2012 students finished on Monday, while Tuesday was reserved for the 2013 batch. As a result, new students will be left with fewer seats as they will only able to register online on Thursday. An official at SQU explained that students use social media to offer courses at different prices. >A6

from Muscat. Salim Al Badi, a resident in the area, confirmed the news saying that the child was transferred to Dhank hospital and then to Ibri hospital. “The deceased child was swimming with other children in a water pool inside a farm. When he started drowning the other children called the expat worker in

the farm to save the child but he reached too late. The child was first transferred to Dhank hospital and then to Ibri but after some time he was pronounced dead by the hospital officials,” said Al Badi. The Public Authority for Civil Defence and Ambulance (PACDA) has urged people to swim in only the designated areas. >A6


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