Ministry of Manpower idiots arrest volunteers at schools for disabled children

An anonymous author on Oman Forum yesterday posted a report that the infamously stupid Ministry of Manpower (aka Ministry of Labour) raided several schools caring for special needs children and arrested several volunteers, confiscating their IDs and passports.

The cases are apparently going in front of the Public Prosecutor this week. Here's the report:

On Monday the 13th of December the Ministry of Labour came into our special education center in and took into custody all of our volunteers and seized both their passports and ID cards.(those that didn’t have the passports with them, were seized and taken to the ministry, they were not able to be released without someone from their family turning over their passports)

They are there as volunteers not workers (they are not taking any salary) and all proper paperwork was filled out; Volunteer forms, a letter from them stating that they would like to volunteer and they understood this means no salary, and copies of their passport, ID and CV. The Ministry is refusing to give back the ID cards and are threatening to deport the volunteers

Firstly, The Ministry of Social Development knows we have been running under Ministry of Commerce since 2007, the royal decree that came in to play about centers with handicapped children came in 2008 (the Royal Degree stated that all handicapped centers must be under Ministry of Social Development). The Ministry on Social development has allowed us to continue to operate until all of our paperwork is completed, which should be sometime within the next few weeks.

Secondly, all the ladies are VOLUNTEERS, they are not taking salaries and according to what our lawyer has said this is legal (there is no stated rule about volunteering in Oman). This was the third time they had come in, the first two times the inspectors had said we were on the legal side.

Furthermore, in seizing both the ID cards and passports of these ladies is wrong, now they have no documents.

We were not the only center targeted... two other special education centers were also targeted and their volunteers also taken. All three centers have been turned over to public prosecutor. Can anyone help these three centers?

All of these volunteers in all three centers are just helping children. They take time from there time to come and play and help the kids, they were doing nothing wrong or illegal.javascript:void(0)

There was an article on Nov 26th in the hi magazine, urging people to volunteer... but then the ministry of labour goes to special education center and arrests volunteers??

Yes, the Ministry of Manpower's thugs at work. According to my sources, the report is, unfortunately, quite true and accurate.



Not content with hounding powerless underpaid housemaids from India and elsewhere, they are now targeting expats who volunteer to help Oman's disadvantaged special needs children. You know, the kids who are so well regarded by most of Omani society that they are simply left to under-funded charities to take care of, or abandoned in orphanages.

I guess taking payments to clear illicit visa requests while ignoring the thousands of blatant violations of labour law visible on building sites all over Oman still leaves plenty of time for such bullying. After all, it's not as if these morons from the Ministry could actually get a real job anyhow.

Cowards.

I can only hope the judge will bawl them out for not only doing something so obviously counter-productive to Omani society, but for wasting his time too, as volunteering is not illegal, even if you are recompensed for expenses.

Happy Holidays indeed.

HH Sayyid Taimur calls out the Ministry of Manpower, and another awesome Muscat Confidential Promo

First, news.

A big Muscat Confidential thumbs up to HH Sayyid Tariq bin Shabib bin Taimur, Chairman of the National Hospitality Institute (a private training outfit for the hospitality industry in Oman), who was in the business section of today's Muscat Daily (they don't have a website, so I can't give you a link) pointing out how useless the Ministry of Manpower are. Despite having loads of training places available, lots of potential Omani trainees, and hundreds of potential jobs, the MoM just couldn't be arsed to assign the trainees or even pay their outstanding bills with NHI.

He even lists the things he's about the get action on via "... other Ministries concerned and authorities in Government" [read: Ministry of National Economy, MoF, and HM]. He is quoted as saying:

" NHI is...requesting the following solutions:

- pay NHI all outstanding debt immediately, for all work successfully completed;
- remove the conflict of interest [MoM run Oman Tourism College, a competitor];
- change the chronic processes for trainee allocation and payment; and
- quantify and confirm the scale of the [training] opportunity."

Nice one.

I do have a suggestion, Your Majesty**. How about appointing HH Sayyid as Minister of Manpower? He seems to have his shit together and the ability to apply common sense proposals based on a sensible appoach to achieve desired results, a fundamental ability we have all noted seems curiously missing from the skillset of the MoM incumbent...

HH is totally correct: there are a mountain of jobs in the local hospitality industry the new generation of Omanis could excel at, and that should pay a lot more than 300 rials a month too. The Ministry of Manpower instead of training Omanis for actual jobs we need and paying their bills, seem to want to focus on arresting and deporting poor down trodden part-time housemaids, construction labourers and gardeners, presumably to reinforce the natural monopolies of the industrial manpower giants like BEC and OHI. I wonder why?

HH also, demonstrably, has huge balls. I don't recall a member of the Royal Family taking on a Ministry before in a public press conference.

More please HH. So far, you've certainly made a fan of Undercover Dragon.



Promotion!!!
And in another exclusive promotion for our lucky readers, friend of Muscat Confidential and promising local blogger Mr Sythe of Muscat Mutterings has returned the favour* by offering a pair of free tickets to the upcoming comedy night on Thursday May 13th ("a ruckin good time" - getit?) in aid of the rugby players at Muscat Rugby Club.

Free tickets to Muscat Rugby Club's Comedy bash next Thursday night, 13th May!


It sounds like a totally fun bash. Muscat needs as much comedy as it can get (and not the Ministry of Manpower kind).

The Muscat Rugby Team could also do with a few corporate sponsors too, btw, as the management of the rugby club don't seem to be financially able*** to fully support, er, the people who actually play rugby. Interested? Contact Mr Sythe at mrsythe(at)gmail(dot)com

Usual deal: Put your entry in the comments section or email me at undercover(dot)dragon(at)gmail(dot)com, along with a way to contact you. The draw will be held this Monday evening (that's 2 days away folks), so get in quick!


An update on the Jefferson Starship-esque 123 Orion band's Charity gig, held at Royal Flight over the weekend in aid of the Creative learning Center tomorrow, BTW... I heard it was pretty good.



* He won 2 free tickets to Tom Jones from here a while ago.


** I do fantasize about HM being a reader, must admit... if only...


*** post-posting edit/clarification at the request of Mr Sythe.

HM's Opening Speech lays the smack down and points to a tough stance on Governmental Corruption

His Majesty made his annual opening speech a couple of days ago to the Majlis [Oman's pseudo-Parliament] with the assembled great and the good of Oman's Government.

Most interesting for me was the pretty significant and explicit threat to prosecute those using Government office for enriching themselves. Both his tone, body language, and the high % of his speech dedicated to this point, are highly significant and buttress the recent public dismissal of 2 key people for alleged iffy transactions.

Go HM.

Here's a translation of that part of his speech. See what you think!

The necessary pillars for any sustainable development are good Government performances in different sectors, serving the country and citizens with honesty and dedication and putting public interest over all other considerations.
…
it is worth noting that the government’s performance in laying the groundwork for sustainable development relies on those [Government employees] carrying out their duties, as well as on their supervisors. This places a huge responsibility on the shoulders of civil servants who are entrusted with the work in the various Government Departments. If their work is carried out in an honest manner and with a spirit of responsibility, distinct from personal interests, then they will be happy and so will their country. But if they stray from the right path and consider the job as a means to achieving personal gains, influence and power, and if they shrink from carrying out their duties with complete honesty and dedication, they should be held accountable and legal procedures should be taken against them in accordance with the principals of justice upon which we have laid down the pillars of rule.

In accordance with these pillars we are required to not allow anyone to be above the rule of law, nor to let anyone unlawfully affect either the interests of our people as guaranteed by the State or the interests of the community as protected by legislation and supported by our laws and regulations. Therefore we emphasise that the issue of enforcement of justice is imperative and inevitable, and that our monitoring apparatus is alert and dedicated to carrying out their duties and responsibilities in order to safeguard the country’s achievements.
…

here’s part one too, although the link seems broken.



and another fuller transcript from Digital Oman.

Pour encourager les autres... Muscat style

Yes, truly the phrase Pour encourager les autres seems so appropriate!
I've been meaning to blog this story for a few weeks, but kept being distracted. And I wanted a nice picture too, especially for my overseas visitors. Here is the infamous new building near Muscat International Airport, built by sacked Minister of Manpower Juma Al Juma.


As you can see, it is now being summarily torn down, in a highly public display of what happens when you take things too far, Minister or not.

The story that finally emerged is that the building was both too high for the international rules for the glide path of an international airport, and was being partially built on some other Minister's land, and it had been built under an illegitimate building permit issued by ex-head of the Muscat Municipality, who allegedly over-ruled his engineer.

They got caught, and His Majesty was not impressed. Hence the dismissals, and now the building is being torn down too. Apparently the place got ransacked of its fixures before the demolition crew moved in, after word got out of the order to tear it down. Everybody knows the story, and people actually visit the site (next to the Shell Petrol Station as you approach the airport from Muscat) to see it. But of course not a whisper of it in the press!!

A similar deconstruction occured a few years ago in Qurm, where the unfinished palace of another disgraced Minister (on the site next door to the Khimji's big place) was torn down and the land apparently confiscated.

Such is the fate of those who fly too close to the sun. His Majesty knows full well of the corruption that surrounds him, but he has apparently said, when asked why he didn't replace those Ministers and officials he knew to be enriching themselves from the public purse, "Better a full rat than a hungry rat".

A wise man indeed.

But in this case they went too far, both endangering the airport and letting a spat about the ownership of land become public. Hence the very public nature of the dismissals.

Ministerial change out – the real story part II?

Rumors over the weekend swirled in the Arabic blogosphere and in the sitting rooms of the great and the good, all about what could be the reason for the apparent dismissal of Minister HE Dr Juma Al Juma. And I feel they are substantive enough to now report here for your edification.

Bottom line of the story being circulated: it seems that HE Juma owned a building adjacent to the usual landing approach path to Muscat International airport, next to the Shell station by the motorway. He had a 4th floor added, but it seems, allegedly, the permit for the extra floor was not actually legitimate but was, er, lets say 'illicit'. The height of the addition was in reality too high for FIA regulations concerning the height of things near approach paths, which was why a real permit couldn't be issued, and the additional floor is now apparently being physically removed.

I must admit, it is hard to believe that a Minister would be so silly to deliberately bend such rules for a relatively small amount of money to be gained. But that is the rumor, heard from several sources, several very, very highly placed. (I’d link you to the Arabic comments made over the weekend, but they have been removed).

Change out at Ministry of Manpower, Muscat Municipality

Ah yes, a mini-reshuffle of ministers!
OK, so what’s the scoop?

Minister of Manpower replaced
Out: HE Dr. Juma bin Ali bin Juma
In: HE Abdullah bin Nasser al Bakri

The Minister of Manpower has been replaced by up and coming young technocrat Abdullah bin Nasser al Bakri, previously Under-Secretary of Water Resources Affairs at the Ministry of Regional Municipalities and Water Resources, with the old Minister effectively sacked. (The undersecretary must have made a good impression on His Highness Sayyid Shihab bin Tareq al Said, Adviser to His Majesty the Sultan, at a recent water resource exposition in Spain they attended together.)
Despite earlier comments made to this blog, the replacement is probably unrelated to recent student protests (I think that would be more directly placed at the door of the MOE, whose Minister was instructed by His Majesty to sort that out a couple of weeks ago). No, my sources tell me the change is because essentially the old MOM, HE Dr. Juma bin Ali bin Juma, was increasingly preoccupied with his own very successful trucking business, getting a Doctorate, and in addition was not making any friends with the tone of his pronouncements.


Chairman of Muscat Municipality replaced
Out: HE Eng. Abdullah Bin Abbas Bin Ahmed
In: HE Eng. Sultan Bin Hamdoun Bin Saif Al Harthy
The existing chairman of Muscat Municipality, man about town HE Eng. Abdullah Bin Abbas Bin Ahmed, has been gently moved to a position as one of the many Secretary-Generals at the Diwan of the Royal Court, effectively a nice cushy semi-retirement on full pay. Not that he needs the money too much these days after a long period as head of the big spending municipality and local businessman!
[For example, I’m reliably informed that in one of his most recent projects he successfully built a large office building oat a prime location near the Hyatt in Shatti – which thanks to excellent project management skills was built in record time and never experienced any shortages of cement or labour – and ... (post press correction: rented out, not sold to SinoHydro. Thanks Muscati!)] He also has varied other business interests, many of them highly successful, including being Chairman of the board of directors at The Wave, Muscat.

He is replaced by HE Eng. Sultan Bin Hamdoun Bin Saif Al Harthy, who my sources tell me is ex-Oman Military and used to head one of the critical Military Intelligence Sections. This position is a reward for his many years of excellent work in the service of His Majesty and the country. I’m sure being responsible for all of greater Muscat’s civil infrastructure and lots of other mundane tasks is a pretty hard job, (albeit one that is commonly seen to have lots of fringe benefits).

I certainly wish HE Al Harthy success, as meeting the challenge of building on the achievements of HE Abdullah Bin Abbas Bin Ahmed will not be an easy task in such a high profile role.

Royal Decree appoints Abdullah Al Bakri as Minister of Manpower
MUSCAT His Majesty Sultan Qaboos Bin Said has issued three Royal Decrees as follows:

Royal Decree No.-103/2008 appoints Minister of Manpower.
Article I appoints HE Sheikh Abdullah Bin Nasir Bin Abdullah Al Bakri as Minister of Manpower.
Article II says the decree comes into force from date of its issue.

Royal Decree No.-104/2008 appoints a secretary-general at the Diwan of the Royal Court.
Article I appoints HE Eng. Abdullah Bin Abbas Bin Ahmed as Secretary-General at the Diwan of the Royal Court with his grade and financial allocations.
Article II says the decree comes into force from the date of its issue.

Royal Decree No.-105/2008 appoints Chairman of Muscat Municipality.
Article I appoints HE Eng. Sultan Bin Hamdoun Bin Saif Al Harthy as Chairman of Muscat Municipality with a grade of undersecretary.
Article II says the decree comes into force from the date of its issue.

Oman News Agency