Promotions to cost RO 70m a year: Official

Muscat, Dec 4 - The promotion of government employees is estimated to cost an additional RO 70 million a year to the state finance.

This was disclosed by Nasser bin Khamis al Jashmi, Under-Secretary of the Ministry of Finance, to reporters on the sidelines of the first Sustainability Conference which was opened at Oman Convention and Exhibition Centre on Tuesday.

In the beginning of October this year, His Majesty Sultan Qaboos issued Royal directives to promote the 2010 batch of Omani government employees with effect from November 1.

Experts do not expect the additional cost arising from the promotion to make much of a difference in the Budget 2019, even though the ministry has asked all government units not to increase the scope of their expenses.

“The additional expenses resulting from the promotions should remain within the limit of the general budget even as there is fluctuation in oil prices,” said a financial expert with a leading bank.

The Ministry of Finance, as usual, will put in place precautionary measures for the budget for

the coming fiscal year to offset the changes in the crude oil prices, the expert added. Allocations for employee salaries and entitlements stood at RO 3.3 billion in the 2018 budget. The banker hoped the promotions and changes in the grades and salaries of employees will have a positive effect on the Omani economy. He said the stress on the general budget will be the need to improve the business environment to raise investment rates and create job opportunities for citizens.