By V L Srinivasan
Muscat, Jan 25: Oman will spend over US$6bn in the next six years to meet the growing electricity demand and new power plants are being set up for the purpose, Chairman of Public Authority for Electricity and Water (PAEW) H E Mohammed bin Abdullah al Mahrouqui said on Sunday.
The announcement was made at the inauguration of a two day seminar on ‘Using Coal for Power Generation’ in the Sultanate of Oman, organised by the Ministry of National Economy and held under the auspices of H E Maqbool bin Ali Sultan, Minister of Commerce and Industry.
H E Mahrouqui said that the spurt in the sultanate's economic and industrial activities has resulted in the demand for power shooting up from 1,823MW in 2000 to 3,808MW last year.
Power demand is estimated to be around 4,600MW by 2016. “This growth in demand is nearly three times compared to the industrialised nations and we require U$6bn for power and another US$2bn for water."
In a statement, H E Maqbool bin Ali Sultan said all power plants in the sultanate were gas and diesel based and there was no coal fired power plant so far.
He hoped that gas reserves would increase in future so that there is no need for coal to generate electricity. "Any country will have to consider alternatives to the use of fuel for generating electricity if there is insufficient gas."
Sunday, May 2, 2010
UNEP plans strategy to deal with e-waste in Arab region
By V L Srinivasan
Muscat, Jan 13 : The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) is planning to finalise a strategy to deal with the growing electronic waste in the Middle East region by the end of this year.
As part of this exercise, the Manama based UNEP Regional Office for West Asia (ROWA) held a meeting with its stakeholders in Cairo last year to identify the problem in the region, the kind of national strategies in vogue in each country and to come up with an action plan and a regional perspective to tackle it.
"The Cairo meeting concluded that an action plan at the regional level is feasible, identified some problems and found solutions to them. We are now in the process of identifying companies which can invest in the management of e-waste in the region," Dr Habib N El Habr, director and regional representative of UNEP ROWA told Muscat Daily.
E-waste, which comprises the spare parts of junked mobile phones, old television sets, computers, electrical meters and switch boards, and other electronic items, can lead to environ-mental hazards if it is not disposed of with adequate precautions.
Though recycling e-waste is a profitable business, many people are unaware of the monetary gains. It not only yields third grade plastic, but also valuable metals like gold, palladium and platinum, as well as certain non-metallic materials.
“Every time we replace our mobile phone, laptop, personal computer, which we do frequently because of the rapid developments in the IT field, we are adding to rapidly growing environmental problems. The various components of electronic items pose a potential environmental hazard and UNEP wants to address the issue,” Dr
Habr said.
According to him, any regional strategy has to be prepared in consonance with the sub regional action plans on the problem in the GCC, Middle East and North African countries. "This strategy has to be in an adaptable form and meet the special needs of the member countries."
He said the UNEP ROWA was acting like a facilitator in identifying companies which can invest in e-waste management. "We will provide technical support to prospective companies and hope that the entire process will be completed this year."
Recalling his visit to one of the e-waste recycling plants in the UAE last year, Dr Habr said that the company was segregating toxic material from non toxic waste in cell phones in a scientific manner and was sending the material to Germany after treatment.
Muscat, Jan 13 : The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) is planning to finalise a strategy to deal with the growing electronic waste in the Middle East region by the end of this year.
As part of this exercise, the Manama based UNEP Regional Office for West Asia (ROWA) held a meeting with its stakeholders in Cairo last year to identify the problem in the region, the kind of national strategies in vogue in each country and to come up with an action plan and a regional perspective to tackle it.
"The Cairo meeting concluded that an action plan at the regional level is feasible, identified some problems and found solutions to them. We are now in the process of identifying companies which can invest in the management of e-waste in the region," Dr Habib N El Habr, director and regional representative of UNEP ROWA told Muscat Daily.
E-waste, which comprises the spare parts of junked mobile phones, old television sets, computers, electrical meters and switch boards, and other electronic items, can lead to environ-mental hazards if it is not disposed of with adequate precautions.
Though recycling e-waste is a profitable business, many people are unaware of the monetary gains. It not only yields third grade plastic, but also valuable metals like gold, palladium and platinum, as well as certain non-metallic materials.
“Every time we replace our mobile phone, laptop, personal computer, which we do frequently because of the rapid developments in the IT field, we are adding to rapidly growing environmental problems. The various components of electronic items pose a potential environmental hazard and UNEP wants to address the issue,” Dr
Habr said.
According to him, any regional strategy has to be prepared in consonance with the sub regional action plans on the problem in the GCC, Middle East and North African countries. "This strategy has to be in an adaptable form and meet the special needs of the member countries."
He said the UNEP ROWA was acting like a facilitator in identifying companies which can invest in e-waste management. "We will provide technical support to prospective companies and hope that the entire process will be completed this year."
Recalling his visit to one of the e-waste recycling plants in the UAE last year, Dr Habr said that the company was segregating toxic material from non toxic waste in cell phones in a scientific manner and was sending the material to Germany after treatment.
Indian Embassy seeks amnesty for its illegal immigrants
By V L Srinivasan
Muscat, Jan 9: Concerned over the fate of thousands of illegal Indian immigrants in the sultanate, the Indian Embassy in Muscat has started accepting applications from them to seek amnesty from the Oman government on their behalf and facilitate their return to India.
The move comes after the Royal Decree on November 1 last year that amended Labour Law in November last year and provided it more teeth to deal with illegal employment in the country.
The government of Oman had also set a deadline for local employers to regularise such workers before the end of last year. This was later extended by another two months.
The Embassy officials have started the process since mid December and have received more than 11,000 applications so far. They have not fixed any last date for registering them.
This is the third time the Indian Embassy has taken up the task. Some 16,000 people were sent back to India in 2005 and another 3,500 in 2007. Incidentally, H E Anil Wadhwa, the Indian Ambassador to Oman, is dealing with the issue for the second time in the last two and a half years.
The issue came to the fore when the Indian Embassy officials, during their Open House session with Indian expatriates on December 17, were informed about the problem being faced by immigrants who did not have proper documents to work in the sultanate.
“We devised registration forms and had a few volunteers on the embassy premises to accept the applications from them. We have received more than 11,000 applications during the last fortnight out of an estimated 25,000. Since there is no deadline, we appeal to the remaining people to come and register with us,” Wadhwa told Muscat Daily.
Most of these illegal immigrants are from the South Indian states of Andhra Pradesh, Kerala and Tamil Nadu.
They have entered the sultanate either illegally from a neighbouring country to work or came on visit visas and were working without permission after their sponsors abandoned them.
The Indian Embassy officials have already written to Minister of Manpower H E Abdullah bin Nasser bin Abdullah al Bakri requesting them to allow the illegals to leave Oman by exempting them from payment of the fine as they are unemployed.
"There are already between 150 to 200 Indians in the detention centres at Samail and other places whose cases are being dealt separately. We want to give them an opportunity to return to India and are awaiting a response from the Ministry of Manpower officials," H E Wadhwa said.
However, the process of illegal immigrants leaving the country is by no means an easy one as there are still some 700 odd people, who have registered in 2007, and are yet to leave Oman as the documentation process is not complete.
Most of the people are ready to pay for their return airfare, but they are in no position to pay the fine amount which may go up to RO1,500. “We will make arrangements for those who cannot pay for their tickets,” H E Wadhwa said. According to the Indian Embassy officials, they would approach the Ministry of Foreign Affairs so that this group of people are granted amnesty and sent back to their native places without paying a fine.
Muscat, Jan 9: Concerned over the fate of thousands of illegal Indian immigrants in the sultanate, the Indian Embassy in Muscat has started accepting applications from them to seek amnesty from the Oman government on their behalf and facilitate their return to India.
The move comes after the Royal Decree on November 1 last year that amended Labour Law in November last year and provided it more teeth to deal with illegal employment in the country.
The government of Oman had also set a deadline for local employers to regularise such workers before the end of last year. This was later extended by another two months.
The Embassy officials have started the process since mid December and have received more than 11,000 applications so far. They have not fixed any last date for registering them.
This is the third time the Indian Embassy has taken up the task. Some 16,000 people were sent back to India in 2005 and another 3,500 in 2007. Incidentally, H E Anil Wadhwa, the Indian Ambassador to Oman, is dealing with the issue for the second time in the last two and a half years.
The issue came to the fore when the Indian Embassy officials, during their Open House session with Indian expatriates on December 17, were informed about the problem being faced by immigrants who did not have proper documents to work in the sultanate.
“We devised registration forms and had a few volunteers on the embassy premises to accept the applications from them. We have received more than 11,000 applications during the last fortnight out of an estimated 25,000. Since there is no deadline, we appeal to the remaining people to come and register with us,” Wadhwa told Muscat Daily.
Most of these illegal immigrants are from the South Indian states of Andhra Pradesh, Kerala and Tamil Nadu.
They have entered the sultanate either illegally from a neighbouring country to work or came on visit visas and were working without permission after their sponsors abandoned them.
The Indian Embassy officials have already written to Minister of Manpower H E Abdullah bin Nasser bin Abdullah al Bakri requesting them to allow the illegals to leave Oman by exempting them from payment of the fine as they are unemployed.
"There are already between 150 to 200 Indians in the detention centres at Samail and other places whose cases are being dealt separately. We want to give them an opportunity to return to India and are awaiting a response from the Ministry of Manpower officials," H E Wadhwa said.
However, the process of illegal immigrants leaving the country is by no means an easy one as there are still some 700 odd people, who have registered in 2007, and are yet to leave Oman as the documentation process is not complete.
Most of the people are ready to pay for their return airfare, but they are in no position to pay the fine amount which may go up to RO1,500. “We will make arrangements for those who cannot pay for their tickets,” H E Wadhwa said. According to the Indian Embassy officials, they would approach the Ministry of Foreign Affairs so that this group of people are granted amnesty and sent back to their native places without paying a fine.
National Heart Centre to be opened in Royal Hospital
By V L Srinivasan
Muscat, Jan 3: A state-of-the-art heart institute - National Heart Centre - is coming up on the premises of The Royal Hospital. The construction work on the RO30mn project will begin later this week.
The 140-bed centre is the first of its kind in the sultanate and is expected to be among the top heart institutes in the GCC region. It will have four each of operation theatres and cath labs and the centre will also impart training to doctors and paramedical staff on a regular basis.
"It is a gift from His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said to the people of the Sultanate. It will be a centre for excellence for treating people suffering from cardiac diseases," Dr Abdulla M al Riyami, senior consultant and head of the department of cardiology of The Royal Hospital told Muscat Daily.
One of the leading business houses in Oman has offered a donation of RO15mn
towards this cause, and the balance RO15mn is being provided by the government.
"The Royal Hospital has performed over 700 cardiac operations and 2,500cath lab procedures since 1990, and the numbers are growing steadily," said Dr Riyami.
At present, the department of cardiology in the hospital has 30 beds for adults while the postcardio surgery for children has four. Dr Riyami added that the present cardiology wing in the Royal Hospital will continue to receive patients as an emergency centre and those who need acute treatment will be referred to the new centre, he added.
Muscat, Jan 3: A state-of-the-art heart institute - National Heart Centre - is coming up on the premises of The Royal Hospital. The construction work on the RO30mn project will begin later this week.
The 140-bed centre is the first of its kind in the sultanate and is expected to be among the top heart institutes in the GCC region. It will have four each of operation theatres and cath labs and the centre will also impart training to doctors and paramedical staff on a regular basis.
"It is a gift from His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said to the people of the Sultanate. It will be a centre for excellence for treating people suffering from cardiac diseases," Dr Abdulla M al Riyami, senior consultant and head of the department of cardiology of The Royal Hospital told Muscat Daily.
One of the leading business houses in Oman has offered a donation of RO15mn
towards this cause, and the balance RO15mn is being provided by the government.
"The Royal Hospital has performed over 700 cardiac operations and 2,500cath lab procedures since 1990, and the numbers are growing steadily," said Dr Riyami.
At present, the department of cardiology in the hospital has 30 beds for adults while the postcardio surgery for children has four. Dr Riyami added that the present cardiology wing in the Royal Hospital will continue to receive patients as an emergency centre and those who need acute treatment will be referred to the new centre, he added.
New IT Law for corporates to come into force from January 1
By V L Srinivasan
Muscat, Dec 30: Entering a new era of corporate taxation, the sultanate is ready up to implement the new Income Tax (IT) Law which will come into effect from January 1.
The government has already conducted a seminar for business houses in the sultanate to explain the salient features and also the benefits that can be accrued out of the new Income Tax Law. Even some private firms held similar programmes to clear doubts among the corporate houses.
The new Act, which is aimed at attracting foreign direct investment (FDI), is a blend of two existing tax legislations - one for corporate tax including the tax on foreign companies operating in Oman, and the other for profit tax on establishments in Oman that are owned by either Omani or foreign individuals.
At present, foreign companies, operating in Oman through permanent establishments, are taxed between 5-30 per cent depending on their incomes. "Under the new IT Law, the tax rates have been harmonised and it will be 12 per cent for all firms irrespective of their country of origin. We feel that non-discrimination will ensure more foreign investments into the sultanate," H E Saud bin Nasser al Shukaily, secretary general of taxation, Ministry of Finance, told Muscat Daily.
The existing laws had some ambiguities which were set right by implementing the new Act. After the sultanate became a member of World Trade Organisation (WTO), there was a need to update the existing laws.
"The other reason which necessitated the introduction of the new Income Tax Law is the development of the country's economy and also the growing number of companies," he said.
Another important step in this direction was entering into the Avoidance of Double Taxation treaty, which was signed with 32 countries. The process of signing similar agreements with 20 more countries is under various stages progress. The new law also provides relief to Omani companies when they invest outside and pay taxes on overseas income both here and in the host country. This will be in the form of deduction of the overseas tax paid against the tax payable in Oman and will be given whether Oman has a double taxation treaty with the host country or not.
The new Income Tax Law is a sequel to Royal Decree No 28/2009 which was issued in June this year. Under the new law, the system of income taxation will be changed to the ‘global system of taxation.’
Muscat, Dec 30: Entering a new era of corporate taxation, the sultanate is ready up to implement the new Income Tax (IT) Law which will come into effect from January 1.
The government has already conducted a seminar for business houses in the sultanate to explain the salient features and also the benefits that can be accrued out of the new Income Tax Law. Even some private firms held similar programmes to clear doubts among the corporate houses.
The new Act, which is aimed at attracting foreign direct investment (FDI), is a blend of two existing tax legislations - one for corporate tax including the tax on foreign companies operating in Oman, and the other for profit tax on establishments in Oman that are owned by either Omani or foreign individuals.
At present, foreign companies, operating in Oman through permanent establishments, are taxed between 5-30 per cent depending on their incomes. "Under the new IT Law, the tax rates have been harmonised and it will be 12 per cent for all firms irrespective of their country of origin. We feel that non-discrimination will ensure more foreign investments into the sultanate," H E Saud bin Nasser al Shukaily, secretary general of taxation, Ministry of Finance, told Muscat Daily.
The existing laws had some ambiguities which were set right by implementing the new Act. After the sultanate became a member of World Trade Organisation (WTO), there was a need to update the existing laws.
"The other reason which necessitated the introduction of the new Income Tax Law is the development of the country's economy and also the growing number of companies," he said.
Another important step in this direction was entering into the Avoidance of Double Taxation treaty, which was signed with 32 countries. The process of signing similar agreements with 20 more countries is under various stages progress. The new law also provides relief to Omani companies when they invest outside and pay taxes on overseas income both here and in the host country. This will be in the form of deduction of the overseas tax paid against the tax payable in Oman and will be given whether Oman has a double taxation treaty with the host country or not.
The new Income Tax Law is a sequel to Royal Decree No 28/2009 which was issued in June this year. Under the new law, the system of income taxation will be changed to the ‘global system of taxation.’
Duqm power project receives good response
By V L Srinivasan
Muscat, Dec 29: More than four dozen companies have shown interest in setting up the 1,000MW coal-fired power project in Duqm, some 600km from Muscat, next to an pcoming port at the same place, on the east coast of Oman.
Enthused by the response, officials are now planning to issue the Request for Qualification (RFQ) for the project (being taken up on a Build, Own and Operate basis) in April 2010, with early power expected in April 2015 and the full commissioning by January 2016.
"We have received 50 Letters of Interest (LoI) from various parties before the close of deadline on December 10 and the responses are being assessed," sources told Muscat Daily.
However, they said that there is no cost or commitment involved to register interest and it would be no obstacle to parties being involved who have not registered interest at the initial stage.
"This is a non-binding market awareness and feedback exercise and the real pulse will be felt when the parties avail RFQ in April next year," the sources added.
As far as finances are concerned, the approach would be along similar lines to the previous Independent Water and Power Projects (IWPPs), subject only to required variations for the fact that the fuel is not gas but coal, which has to be secured from overseas markets.
“Private financing involving equity, banks and export credit agencies is expected with a requirement to go public within a set time frame,” sources said.
The coal-based power project will be the first of its kind in the Middle East and would be connected to the Main Interconnected System (MIS) which serves around half a million consumers in the Muscat and Buraimi governerates, besides large parts of South and North Batinah, Dakhliyah, Sharqiyah and Dhahirah regions.
Coal being the raw material, the government is exploring the possibility of importing it from Australia, South Africa or Indonesia and supply it to the developer. It is also considering both - sub and super critical boiler technologies for the project.
Muscat, Dec 29: More than four dozen companies have shown interest in setting up the 1,000MW coal-fired power project in Duqm, some 600km from Muscat, next to an pcoming port at the same place, on the east coast of Oman.
Enthused by the response, officials are now planning to issue the Request for Qualification (RFQ) for the project (being taken up on a Build, Own and Operate basis) in April 2010, with early power expected in April 2015 and the full commissioning by January 2016.
"We have received 50 Letters of Interest (LoI) from various parties before the close of deadline on December 10 and the responses are being assessed," sources told Muscat Daily.
However, they said that there is no cost or commitment involved to register interest and it would be no obstacle to parties being involved who have not registered interest at the initial stage.
"This is a non-binding market awareness and feedback exercise and the real pulse will be felt when the parties avail RFQ in April next year," the sources added.
As far as finances are concerned, the approach would be along similar lines to the previous Independent Water and Power Projects (IWPPs), subject only to required variations for the fact that the fuel is not gas but coal, which has to be secured from overseas markets.
“Private financing involving equity, banks and export credit agencies is expected with a requirement to go public within a set time frame,” sources said.
The coal-based power project will be the first of its kind in the Middle East and would be connected to the Main Interconnected System (MIS) which serves around half a million consumers in the Muscat and Buraimi governerates, besides large parts of South and North Batinah, Dakhliyah, Sharqiyah and Dhahirah regions.
Coal being the raw material, the government is exploring the possibility of importing it from Australia, South Africa or Indonesia and supply it to the developer. It is also considering both - sub and super critical boiler technologies for the project.
UAE, Bahrain share honours at GCC eGov awards
By V L Srinivasan
Muscat, Dec 26: Showcasing the best of their achievements in the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) sector, the Kingdom of Bahrain and the UAE have bagged five prizes each at the first GCC eGovernment Excellence Awards which concluded in Muscat on Wednesday.
The various categories in which Bahrain won the prizes are; third place in the eServices for eBirth project, first place in eMaturity for the eGovernment Service Delivery Platforms project, third place in eEconomy for the eInvestor project, second place in the eProjects for the Najem Integrated Crime Investigation System project and a special mention for its eTendering project.
The UAE won second prize in the eServices category (DEWA eBill Payment) and third prizes in eContent (eContent GCAA website), eMaturity (eRTA) and eProjects (SAP IS-Utilities and Customer Relationship Management), in addition to a special mention for its Abu Dhabi eGovernment portal in the eContent category.
Speaking to Muscat Daily after receiving the awards, a visibly elated CEO of eGovernment Authority of the Kingdom of Bahrain Mohamed Ali al Qaed said: "This shows our country has set up a benchmark in the field of ICT. It also vindicates our stand that Bahrain has been progressing on the right path. The choice of selecting these projects were based on their performance at national level competitions, which were held in May this year.”
He continued saying that the eGovernment Conference had provided an opportunity to review the most prominent UAE, Bahrain share honours at GCC eGov awards achievements for the projects and eGovernment programmes in the GCC countries and created a platform for positive dialogue between workers in the eGovernment sector and the beneficiaries of those projects.
The CEO of Qatar's ICT delegation Eng Ahmed Mohammed al Kuwari said that they would strive hard to get more awards at the next GCC eGovernment Conference.
Oman was third in eMaturity category for its eGovernment Services Portal and second in the eEconomy category for its MSM Mobile Applications and received a special mention for the best eContent (Ministry of Regional Municipalities and Water Resources website).
Saudi Arabia won four awards including second prize in the eContent category for the Jeddah Municipal portal, first prize in the eEconomy category for its Saudi payment system, first prize in the eProjects category for its Government Service Bus and received a special mention for its eEconomy project Saudi Electronic Data Interchange Project.
Qatar won three prizes including two first prizes in eServices (Qatar General Electricity and Water Corporation) and eContent (Islam Web) in addition to a special mention for best eContent (Supreme Council for ICT) while Kuwait won two special mentions for best eContent for its Ministry of Justice website and in eMaturity in the Ministry of ICT Infrastructure.
Muscat, Dec 26: Showcasing the best of their achievements in the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) sector, the Kingdom of Bahrain and the UAE have bagged five prizes each at the first GCC eGovernment Excellence Awards which concluded in Muscat on Wednesday.
The various categories in which Bahrain won the prizes are; third place in the eServices for eBirth project, first place in eMaturity for the eGovernment Service Delivery Platforms project, third place in eEconomy for the eInvestor project, second place in the eProjects for the Najem Integrated Crime Investigation System project and a special mention for its eTendering project.
The UAE won second prize in the eServices category (DEWA eBill Payment) and third prizes in eContent (eContent GCAA website), eMaturity (eRTA) and eProjects (SAP IS-Utilities and Customer Relationship Management), in addition to a special mention for its Abu Dhabi eGovernment portal in the eContent category.
Speaking to Muscat Daily after receiving the awards, a visibly elated CEO of eGovernment Authority of the Kingdom of Bahrain Mohamed Ali al Qaed said: "This shows our country has set up a benchmark in the field of ICT. It also vindicates our stand that Bahrain has been progressing on the right path. The choice of selecting these projects were based on their performance at national level competitions, which were held in May this year.”
He continued saying that the eGovernment Conference had provided an opportunity to review the most prominent UAE, Bahrain share honours at GCC eGov awards achievements for the projects and eGovernment programmes in the GCC countries and created a platform for positive dialogue between workers in the eGovernment sector and the beneficiaries of those projects.
The CEO of Qatar's ICT delegation Eng Ahmed Mohammed al Kuwari said that they would strive hard to get more awards at the next GCC eGovernment Conference.
Oman was third in eMaturity category for its eGovernment Services Portal and second in the eEconomy category for its MSM Mobile Applications and received a special mention for the best eContent (Ministry of Regional Municipalities and Water Resources website).
Saudi Arabia won four awards including second prize in the eContent category for the Jeddah Municipal portal, first prize in the eEconomy category for its Saudi payment system, first prize in the eProjects category for its Government Service Bus and received a special mention for its eEconomy project Saudi Electronic Data Interchange Project.
Qatar won three prizes including two first prizes in eServices (Qatar General Electricity and Water Corporation) and eContent (Islam Web) in addition to a special mention for best eContent (Supreme Council for ICT) while Kuwait won two special mentions for best eContent for its Ministry of Justice website and in eMaturity in the Ministry of ICT Infrastructure.
Qatar makes steady progress in ICT sector
By V L Srinivasan
Muscat, Dec 22 : Less than a decade after coming out with its official portal, which was launched in 2003, Dawlat Qatar (State of Qatar) has been making news in the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) sector in recent years.
Besides steadily climbing the ladder in terms of rankings accorded by the Global IT Readiness Report (from 35th place in 2006 to 29th in 2008), Qatar has now drawn up ambitious plans and a strategy to become one of the global leaders in the field of ICT by 2020.
After setting up the ICT Supreme Council in 2004, the Qatari government announced its
ICT Policy last year. In between, the official portal was refurbished and named Hukoomi, through which over 300 services including 50 e-transaction services (the
others being informative in nature) like business-to-business (B2B), government-to- business (G2B) and government- to-citizens (G2C) are offered at present.
The popularity of Hukoomi can be gauged by the fact that 3.5mn transactions have taken place, including issuance of 1.5mn exit permits till the end of 2008.
Qatar is one of the few states in the Middle East which has published a white paper on ICT activities initiated in the country.
“Hukoomi was made the main portal for providing authorised government information and
conduct e-transactions by the ICT Supreme Council,” Eng Ahmad Mohammed al Kuwari,
Gov IT Platforms manager, who heads Qatar's ICT delegation at the first GCC eGovernance Conference, told Muscat Daily.
While all government wings have been computerised and the official-public interface has been reduced considerably, some of the departments have engaged themselves in developing inhouse technologies to upgrade their efficiency further, he said.
The government is also encouraging private sector for developing the sector and several multinational companies like Microsoft have started their operations in the country. “Sustainable and stable national economy of Qatar has been attracting lots of companies from abroad,” he said.
Muscat, Dec 22 : Less than a decade after coming out with its official portal, which was launched in 2003, Dawlat Qatar (State of Qatar) has been making news in the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) sector in recent years.
Besides steadily climbing the ladder in terms of rankings accorded by the Global IT Readiness Report (from 35th place in 2006 to 29th in 2008), Qatar has now drawn up ambitious plans and a strategy to become one of the global leaders in the field of ICT by 2020.
After setting up the ICT Supreme Council in 2004, the Qatari government announced its
ICT Policy last year. In between, the official portal was refurbished and named Hukoomi, through which over 300 services including 50 e-transaction services (the
others being informative in nature) like business-to-business (B2B), government-to- business (G2B) and government- to-citizens (G2C) are offered at present.
The popularity of Hukoomi can be gauged by the fact that 3.5mn transactions have taken place, including issuance of 1.5mn exit permits till the end of 2008.
Qatar is one of the few states in the Middle East which has published a white paper on ICT activities initiated in the country.
“Hukoomi was made the main portal for providing authorised government information and
conduct e-transactions by the ICT Supreme Council,” Eng Ahmad Mohammed al Kuwari,
Gov IT Platforms manager, who heads Qatar's ICT delegation at the first GCC eGovernance Conference, told Muscat Daily.
While all government wings have been computerised and the official-public interface has been reduced considerably, some of the departments have engaged themselves in developing inhouse technologies to upgrade their efficiency further, he said.
The government is also encouraging private sector for developing the sector and several multinational companies like Microsoft have started their operations in the country. “Sustainable and stable national economy of Qatar has been attracting lots of companies from abroad,” he said.
Saturday, February 13, 2010
Three day GCC e-Governance meeting begins today
By V L Srinivasan
Muscat, Dec 21 : More than six dozen entries that were submitted by the Information Technology authorities of the GCC countries for the prestigious inaugural eGovernment awards have been unique and “simply amazing,” some of the jury members said.
The award will be presented to the best project initiated in the GCC countries on the concluding day of the first three-day GCC eGoverment Conference 2009 on Wednesday.
Most of the entries submitted for the five categories, e-Services, e-Content, e-Maturity, e-Economy and e-Project, are by various government departments from the GCC countries.
“The entries are innovative and quite amazing. The ideas are very good and can be replicated in other countries,” said Irene Mia, senior economist and director of World Economic Forum, who is one of the jury members for the awards.
Three day eGovernment Conference starts today Entries for the inaugural eGovernment awards quite ‘interesting’, say jury members Speaking to Muscat Daily, Irene said that the entries pertained to different applications and would reduce red tape in conducting businesses in the region. “Instituting such awards would encourage the governments to come up with more innovative ideas by next conference in 2010.”
The GCC countries have been giving preference to e-governance and there has been significant improvement during the last three to four years.”They have been shaping up very well as the respective governments are giving increasing importance to the sector,” she said.
There is lot of scope to improve ICT and diffusion and penetration should be at the centre of the strategy to develop the sector. “The GCC has all the resources to bring a change in the lifestyles of the people,” added Irene.
Dr Nibal Idlebi, chief, ICT Applications Section ICT Division, UN Economic and Social Commission for West Asia (UNESCWA), too said that though there were some variations, the ideas behind the eGovernance projects in the GCC nations were quite interesting.
Dr Nibal, who has gone through most of the projects, said that though they were aware of some of the projects, a few of them were new and it was good to share the experience and best practices adopted in implementing eGovernance by different countries. “These projects are better positioned and can be beneficial to other countries including those outside the region.”
Officials of the ICT departments of the GCC countries will showcase the best projects initiated by their governments at the exhibition being held on the sidelines of the conference.
Oman will present ten projects including the recently launched eGovernment Services Portal, www.oman.om and the services being offered to the people.
Muscat, Dec 21 : More than six dozen entries that were submitted by the Information Technology authorities of the GCC countries for the prestigious inaugural eGovernment awards have been unique and “simply amazing,” some of the jury members said.
The award will be presented to the best project initiated in the GCC countries on the concluding day of the first three-day GCC eGoverment Conference 2009 on Wednesday.
Most of the entries submitted for the five categories, e-Services, e-Content, e-Maturity, e-Economy and e-Project, are by various government departments from the GCC countries.
“The entries are innovative and quite amazing. The ideas are very good and can be replicated in other countries,” said Irene Mia, senior economist and director of World Economic Forum, who is one of the jury members for the awards.
Three day eGovernment Conference starts today Entries for the inaugural eGovernment awards quite ‘interesting’, say jury members Speaking to Muscat Daily, Irene said that the entries pertained to different applications and would reduce red tape in conducting businesses in the region. “Instituting such awards would encourage the governments to come up with more innovative ideas by next conference in 2010.”
The GCC countries have been giving preference to e-governance and there has been significant improvement during the last three to four years.”They have been shaping up very well as the respective governments are giving increasing importance to the sector,” she said.
There is lot of scope to improve ICT and diffusion and penetration should be at the centre of the strategy to develop the sector. “The GCC has all the resources to bring a change in the lifestyles of the people,” added Irene.
Dr Nibal Idlebi, chief, ICT Applications Section ICT Division, UN Economic and Social Commission for West Asia (UNESCWA), too said that though there were some variations, the ideas behind the eGovernance projects in the GCC nations were quite interesting.
Dr Nibal, who has gone through most of the projects, said that though they were aware of some of the projects, a few of them were new and it was good to share the experience and best practices adopted in implementing eGovernance by different countries. “These projects are better positioned and can be beneficial to other countries including those outside the region.”
Officials of the ICT departments of the GCC countries will showcase the best projects initiated by their governments at the exhibition being held on the sidelines of the conference.
Oman will present ten projects including the recently launched eGovernment Services Portal, www.oman.om and the services being offered to the people.
Tuesday, December 8, 2009
Oman ranked fourth for Economic Freedom in Arab world
By V L Srinivasan
Muscat – Oman has been ranked fourth among the 22 Arab nations in terms of Economic Freedom, the annual report of the Economic Freedom of the Arab World : 2009 said.
While Bahrain has occupied the top slot, the second place has been shared by Kuwait and Lebanon, according to the report, which was released at the annual meeting of the Economic Freedom of the Arab World held at Marrakech on November 14.
Bahrain had the best overall score of 7.9 out of 10. Kuwait and Lebanon, which finished first and second in 2008, tied for second with a score of 7.8 this year while Oman secured 7.7 points. Incidentally, the sultanate was numero uno a couple of years ago but slid to third place last year and is now ranked fourth this year.
The report was produced by the Fraser Institute, one of Canada’s leading economic think tanks, along with the International Research Foundation of Oman and the Cairo office of the Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Liberty.
The Economic Freedom of the Arab World: 2009 Annual Report compares and ranks the Arab nations in five economic freedom areas: size of government; commercial and economic law and security of property rights; access to sound money; freedom to trade internationally, and the regulation of credit, labour, and business.
“There is nothing to panic as one should consider rating rather than ranking as the first denotes the actual measure of economic freedom while the second one only gives its position. The reason for the sliding can be attributed to the fact that other countries are improving faster and hence appear higher in the rankings,” OCIPED CEO Dr Salem Ben Nasser Al Ismaily, who authored the report, said.
According to him, Oman's weakest point is the size of the economic activities implemented by the government which is still considered very high compared to that of private sector. The private sector needs to grow more in different areas especially the services.
“In order for Oman to become competitive globally, the private sector should be the engine of growth. With a strong private sector, there will be continued investments and job creations which would generate growth. In a world where markets and supply of goods and services are very much integrated, it is necessary for the Omani private sector to be strong and competitive without relying too heavily on government supports and hand outs,” he felt.
Director of the Globalisation Studies at Fraser Institute Fred McMohan said that the closeness of the scores of these top four suggested a virtual tie for the overall top spot since all four countries are within 0.2 points of each other. “The Gulf States have achieved the highest level of economic freedom in the Arab world but this is not necessarily due to their oil wealth,” he said.
He went on to add: “Wealth from oil production and export presents a great temptation for governments to overspend and crowd out private-sector economic activity but the Gulf States have worked to open their economies internally and externally to world trade and this is a credit to governance in the region.”
Muscat – Oman has been ranked fourth among the 22 Arab nations in terms of Economic Freedom, the annual report of the Economic Freedom of the Arab World : 2009 said.
While Bahrain has occupied the top slot, the second place has been shared by Kuwait and Lebanon, according to the report, which was released at the annual meeting of the Economic Freedom of the Arab World held at Marrakech on November 14.
Bahrain had the best overall score of 7.9 out of 10. Kuwait and Lebanon, which finished first and second in 2008, tied for second with a score of 7.8 this year while Oman secured 7.7 points. Incidentally, the sultanate was numero uno a couple of years ago but slid to third place last year and is now ranked fourth this year.
The report was produced by the Fraser Institute, one of Canada’s leading economic think tanks, along with the International Research Foundation of Oman and the Cairo office of the Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Liberty.
The Economic Freedom of the Arab World: 2009 Annual Report compares and ranks the Arab nations in five economic freedom areas: size of government; commercial and economic law and security of property rights; access to sound money; freedom to trade internationally, and the regulation of credit, labour, and business.
“There is nothing to panic as one should consider rating rather than ranking as the first denotes the actual measure of economic freedom while the second one only gives its position. The reason for the sliding can be attributed to the fact that other countries are improving faster and hence appear higher in the rankings,” OCIPED CEO Dr Salem Ben Nasser Al Ismaily, who authored the report, said.
According to him, Oman's weakest point is the size of the economic activities implemented by the government which is still considered very high compared to that of private sector. The private sector needs to grow more in different areas especially the services.
“In order for Oman to become competitive globally, the private sector should be the engine of growth. With a strong private sector, there will be continued investments and job creations which would generate growth. In a world where markets and supply of goods and services are very much integrated, it is necessary for the Omani private sector to be strong and competitive without relying too heavily on government supports and hand outs,” he felt.
Director of the Globalisation Studies at Fraser Institute Fred McMohan said that the closeness of the scores of these top four suggested a virtual tie for the overall top spot since all four countries are within 0.2 points of each other. “The Gulf States have achieved the highest level of economic freedom in the Arab world but this is not necessarily due to their oil wealth,” he said.
He went on to add: “Wealth from oil production and export presents a great temptation for governments to overspend and crowd out private-sector economic activity but the Gulf States have worked to open their economies internally and externally to world trade and this is a credit to governance in the region.”
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