Muscat: Sultan Qaboos Bin Saeed has advised citizens to take up private sector employment rather than wait to get a government job during his speech to the Council of Oman on Monday.
The Sultan’s comments, which were televised on Oman Television and broadcast on Pan-Arab networks, came after he inaugurated the state-of-the-art council builing in the Al Bustan district of Muscat, which is a new seat for the state council as well as Majlis Ashura in Oman.
“The state, with all its civil, security and military institutions, cannot continue to be the main source of employment, as this calls for a capacity beyond its reach and a mission that the state cannot sustain forever,” he said.
“The citizens have to understand that the private sector is the real source of employment in the long run. Hence they should not hesitate to join the private sector and must not desert their jobs therein. This, in turn, calls for a revision of the salary system of the private sector, particularly in low and medium-paid jobs.
“It has to be accomplished in allegiance to this country, it should also be considered a service to citizens who place their confidence, their efforts and their mental ability in serving the sector.
“Remember that work, as much as it is a right, is a duty as well.”
The Sultan reminded Omani citizens that the private sector was one of the basic pillars of development and disagreed with the idea the private sector simply relied on state handouts and was only interested in achieving profit.
“Such an impression would harm not only the future of the private sector but would also have a negative impact, which will extend to the development plans in the country particularly to the diversification of income,” he said.
However, he did urge the private sector to work harder to eliminate this impression and to increase its contribution to social development in order to improve public confidence.
“It will encourage Omani youth to work in this sector and to continue to keep their jobs and instil a spirit of belonging to the sector’s institutions,” he said.
Speaking about shura (consultation) in Oman, the Sultan said: “The experience of shura in Oman, as we have always stressed, is a successful one.”
He also said that shura in the country was in line with the concept of creating a more enlightened population, who are well aware of their rights and duties. These individuals, he pointed out, were capable of expressing their opinions and ideas in acceptable language, sensible logic and a prudent vision based on proper assessment of the facts.
He told the council members, which included 84 elected shura members, that the culture of shura will grow and take strong root through the role assigned to the members.
“We hope that this great edifice, which we have opened in the name of God, will witness a constructive discussion of matters and a wise tackling of issues; a discussion through which it becomes clear to anyone who observes this experience, locally and abroad, that Omanis are highly capable of participating with their enlightened opinion and mature thought in making decisions to serve their country and promote it to a prominent place and a noble status,” he said.
“This is no challenge to the people of Oman, a country whose glorious past stands as witness and whose brilliant present serves as an incentive to look forward to wider horizons of progress and prosperity.”
