SATURDAY September 24, 2016 22 Dhul Hijja 1437 AH
6 085010 120010 FROM THE WORDS OF HIS MAJESTY THE SULTAN
On the occasion of the 2nd National Day, 1972
‘His Majesty’s Wisdom’ Education was my great concern, and I saw that it was necessary to direct efforts to spread education. We have given the Ministry of Education the opportunity and supplied it with our capabilities to break the chains of ignorance. Schools have been opened regardless; the important thing is that there should be education, even under the shadow of trees.
FIVE DIY PROJECTS TO LIVEN UP YOUR OFFICE >A 8
Founded 1975 . Volume 41 No. 176 | 24 Pages . Baisas 200 . Subscription OMR63 | ISO 9001:2008 Certified Company | Chairman/Editor-in-Chief: Mohamed Issa Al Zadjali | Printed & Published by Muscat Media Group
N AT I O N A L D AY
CAB FIRM BOSS SAYS FARES WILL BE REGULATED improve taxi services in Oman step by step, which will also help the taxi drivers maximise their incomes.”
We want to improve taxi services in Oman step by step, which will also help the taxi drivers maximise their incomes, said Mwasalat CEO Ahmad bin Ali Al Bulushi Ahmad bin Ali Al Bulushi, CEO of Mwasalat
RAHUL DAS
rahuldas@timesofoman.com MUSCAT: A company that won the contract to operate taxis at the Muscat airport said all of its 1,000 taxis will be metered or will follow a set tariff system, a senior official from Mwasalat said. Mwasalat will manage 150 airport taxis, 300 mall taxis and 500 on-call taxis. Speaking to the Times of
Oman, Ahmad bin Ali Al Bulushi, chief executive officer (CEO) of Mwasalat, said they are working closely with the Ministry of Transport to regulate the taxi business in Oman. “We will try to have metering system in all the taxis, which we will operate in Oman,” he stressed. The Mwasalat CEO added that at present people don’t know how much they will have to pay when
HM sends cable of greetings to Saudi King
they are travelling for example from Ruwi to Qurum. “Some taxis will charge OMR1, while some can charge OMR3.” He said the transport company will manage taxis at the airports, malls and on-calls taxis very soon as a licence has been given to them by the Ministry of Transport and Communications. “We want to
Unified fare system Welcoming the move, taxi drivers said they would also like to have a unified fare system. “Fixed prices are better for customers in Oman as then they can’t be cheated, whereas in metered ones customers don’t know what they will have to pay at the end of the ride,” said Suleiman Al Jardani, a taxi driver. Abdullah, another taxi driver, said, “We want the customers to know what they have to pay. So the taxi driver will take the shortest route, but in other countries taxi drivers take the longer routes so that the fares go up and eventually people end up paying more.” Taxi drivers also said some passengers ask for a receipt from
M I N I S T R Y O F H E A LT H
the taxi drivers. “Some people ask me for a receipt and I will be glad to give it to them, but I can’t because the prices are not approved,” he said. Al Jardani also said there is a lot of competition, especially with Mwasalat coming into the picture. “I used to make OMR50 a day before Mwasalat, now I’m lucky to make OMR15 a day.” Taxi drivers also called for creating more designated parking stations for taxis in several areas in Oman. “We’ve been asking for parking areas for years. We need a specific station for taxi drivers and customers like any other country in the world,” Al Jardani noted. Taxi customers, however, want the taxis to be metered. “Almost all the developed countries have metering system in their taxis. It is high time that we should also have it here,” said Sunil, an expat, who uses taxi services twice a day.
MUSCAT: His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said has sent a cable of greetings to the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) on the occasion of the Kingdom’s National Day. In his cable, His Majesty the Sultan expressed his sincere greetings along with his best wishes of good health, happiness and a long life to King Salman, praying to Allah the Almighty for the return of this and similar occasions on him to achieve further aspirations of progress and prosperity for the Saudi brotherly people. — ONA GUINEA-BISSAU
HM sends cable of greetings MUSCAT: His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said has sent a cable of greetings to President Jose Mario Vaz of the Republic of Guinea-Bissau on his country’s Independence Day anniversary. In his cable, His Majesty the Sultan expressed his sincere greetings and wishes of good health and happiness to the president and his country’s people further progress and prosperity. - ONA
MARITIME TRAINING
Ministry plan to certify hospitals for patient safety SYED HAITHAM HASAN
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Nakhal calling TOP THREE INSIDE STORIES
OMAN
‘Infrastructure for manufacturing in place’
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Infrastructure is Oman is in excellent shape for establishing a manufacturing industry, experts at a panel meeting at Ithraa told the gathering. >A3
REGION
MARKET
Aleppo bombing
Saudi offers oil cut
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Saudi Arabia has offered to reduce oil production if rival Iran agrees to cap its own output this year. >B1
Warplanes bombed Aleppo on Friday with what residents described as unprecedented ferocity. >A4
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haitham@timesofoman.com MUSCAT: A plan to certify hospitals for patient safety and quality control is being worked out. Speaking at the Health Expo held at the Oman Exhibition Centre, Samra Salim Al Barwani, Director of Risk Management and Patient Safety at Ministry of Health, said that the ministry in coordination with the World Health Organisation is to start issuing certifications to hospitals in the country based on the level of patient safety friendly practices. Four-step plan “The Ministry of Health is going to introduce a national certification which would exhibit the level of patient safety and quality control practised by healthcare organisations,” she said, speaking about quality control in Oman at the conference.
She also detailed a four-step plan in order to achieve this goal. “The initiative is to spell out the guidelines for hospitals in order to achieve the specified mark in patient safety followed by a survey checklist given to the hospitals, which would allow them to rate themselves based on the specified criteria. Once the hospitals achieve the standards, MoH with the help of WHO and experts in the country will pay an evaluation visit to the hospital. The officials will then decide the certification to give to the hospital,” explained Al Barwani. She mentioned that this process and certification could lead to more trust of people in the healthcare facilities within Oman. The major reason for such an initiative according to Samra was the malpractices and ignorance by healthcare officials in hospitals in Oman that puts life of patients at risk and reduces the trust rating of Omani healthcare industry. >A3
SPORT
Young Muscat footballer signs for Fulham FC Times News Service
Mees Eppink
MUSCAT: A goalkeeper who trains with the Muscat Football Academy is set to join the academy setup of English Football Championship outfit Fulham FC. Mees Eppink, a 10-year-old who trains with MFA’s Under-11 side, had a trial with the London-based club earlier this season and is all set to make the move to the British capital next season. Speaking exclusively to Times of Oman, his father Pascal, who originally hails from the Netherlands, said he was excited for his son to sign for such a prestigious outfit, but added that he would approach the situation pragmatically. “My wife and I are very happy for Mees to join Fulham,” said Eppink Sr. “Of course, he is only 10
years old and I need to work here so moving back to Europe is not a decision we can take lightly.” “I spoke to the club and told them about my work situation,” adds Mr. Eppink. “They were very understanding about it and asked Mees to come and train with them during the Christmas break once school ends, and then they will sign him in 2017.” Mees first caught the eye of
European football scouts at the Mundialto Cup in April this year, an annual youth tournament that features the likes of FC Barcelona, Real Madrid, AFC Ajax, Valencia CF, FC Porto, Sporting Lisbon and Mexican side Club America among many others. With Mees in goal, the Muscat Football Academy reached the quarter-finals of the silver division of the tournament. “When he was at the tournament, there was interest from quite a few European clubs,” recalls Mr. Eppink. “Fulham then saw him and they called him to London for a trial. Normally they would call him for one day and then another trial would be a few days later but because Mees did not live in England, they kept him on trial for many days together. >A3
HONING SKILLS: The exercise was aimed at improving the U.S. Embassy, ROP, and U.S. Navy-Marine Corps team’s crisis response capabilities. -U.S. Marine Corps photo by Sgt. Lauren A. Falk
US Navy and ROP hold evacuation exercise in Muscat Times News Service MUSCAT: United States Embassy in Muscat conducted a bilateral training exercise with the Royal Oman Police (ROP) and the U.S. Navy in the diplomatic enclave in Shatti Al Qurum on Wednesday. The land and maritime training exercise involved transporting volunteers from the U.S. Embassy to a U.S. Navy ship in the
coastal waters of Oman with the assistance of the ROP, and simulating a natural disaster response scenario. Improving capabilities The non-combatant evacuation exercise was aimed at improving the U.S. Embassy, ROP, and U.S. Navy-Marine Corps team’s crisis response capabilities during natural disasters or contingencies.