As some of you may know I often make light of the fact that Oman rarely appears on the pages and websites of the international press. I thought today was no exception. The first couple of headlines I read were about the lack of potential parking issues at a Muscat amphitheatre (fascinating - really).
Then I came across a headline which read: Oman seeks to cut expat workforce. This made me stop and have a read.
The article reports that Oman could soon adopt a similar path to Saudi Arabia, and introduce limits to the number of expat employees hired by sector companies. (On a point of information, this is not strictly true - Saudi Arabia has actually introduced a far more complex system, which rewards private sector companies who employ x number of local employees by making it significantly easier to gain visas for expat workers).
On the one hand you may ask why this is significant news. Well, my response is to ask why the Sultan of Oman feels it is necessary to take the step of reducing the number of expat workers, currently dominating the country's private sector. The obvious answer is that there is a growing problem with unemployment. Some stats I have found support this, with the International Monetary Fund stating that up to 20% of the population is unemployed, which has led to street protests. I have read nothing of these street protests during my almost daily checks on news from the Arabian Peninsula, which leads onto further questions about the strict levels to which important news is kept out of the headlines. It seems the Omani press sensors have been busy.
I will now scour Omani news even more closely than before...I suspect all may not be as rosy as the travel brochures would have us believe.
Great stuff
ReplyDeleteI was working in Oman from January to April 2011. High unemployment was apparent, with a couple of mild protests in Sohar and an attempted sit-in on one of the main roundabouts. Sultan Qaboos' solution was to announce the creation of 10,000 new jobs, available on a first-come,first-served basis at Muscat's football stadium. This short term measure seemed to quieten the reduce the unrest but in private, people continue to grumble about high unemployment.
I definitely remember reading in the Times of Oman several reports on the Sohar protest. However certain details appeared to be censored, most notably the number of fatalities (9 civilians.)
The FT wrote this exaggerated account of the Sohar protest but it provides little in the way of actual facts. Al Jazeera also reported on the unrest in Sohar.
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/3ba34eca-428e-11e0-8b34-00144feabdc0.html#axzz2IdTPJUyH
Sohar is not an exciting city, providing little in the way of tourist attractions or culture. It is a port city and a dull stopping point for buses going to Dubai.
Great blog!
TOMQML
DeleteFirst, thank you very much for your comment and positive feedback. I am always really keen to get people to engage with the posts and respond with their opinions. Please keep doing so! And if you know any other readers of the blog please encourage them to comment as well.
Secondly, I found it very interesting to hear about your insights from inside Oman. I especially found it interesting to read about the seemingly knee-jerk yet not particularly sustainable actions by the Sultan in response to the mild protests in Sohar.
It seems I should start paying more attention to the Times of Oman as a starting point, but I take your warning that key facts may be missing from some articles.
Thanks for your reply.
ReplyDeleteYou are right to describe Oman's reaction to unemployment as 'knee-jerk.' There seems to be a poor understanding of how to solve a growing issue of unemployment. This is embodied in today's comments by Dr Mohammed Al Rumhy,the Minister for Oil and Gas:
http://www.timesofoman.com/News/Article-6917.aspx
For Al-Rumhy, opportunities for employment and rapid promotion are purely founded on hardwork and 'determination.' His attitude of 'no job that is too small' seems to imply that it is a problem with the Omani mindset. Al-Rumhy implies that it is within those who are unemployed (mainly Omani university graduates) they will not consider working in a less prestigious industry for fear of losing face.
Yet Al-Rumhy fails to identify the actual problem. Although some Omanis' are determined not to work in lower end jobs like in petrol stations or as a laborer, even if they did want to, these jobs are not easy to obtain. Like in much of the Arabian Peninsula, the majority of the roadside workers, cooks, etc. are made up of a workforce from countries like Sri Lanka and Pakistan. Likewise, for such a proud nation as Oman, the idea of stooping to such a level is inconceivable.
Al-Rumhy's comments epitomise why Oman could face a serious problem with youth unemployment. Although the Sultan is loved dearly, it is conceivable that there could be a growing rise for the introduction of a more liberal society. Creating 1,000 jobs out of thin air simply demonstrates that Sultan Qaboos was trying to find a basic short term solution to a potentially problematic long term issue.
Thanks for replying to my comment. Just out of interest, which online media sites do you follow when you are drawing inspiration for your blog?
There are more at
ReplyDeletetravelbrochures.org just click on highlighted text.