Municipalities play a significant role in stimulating business and employing local residents. They also play numerous roles in promoting the economic growth of their respective countries, not to mention performing other routine administrative, logistical, economic and social tasks.
Since the responsibilities assigned to municipalities in Oman were transferred to the Ministry of Interior, the municipal sector in each governorate has been working to develop the system to improve operations and provide a better level of services.
What motivates me to write about the work of municipalities in the Sultanate of Oman, particularly Muscat Municipality, are the repeated complaints directed at some officials regarding the exclusion of young people's businesses from some small kiosk projects established to sell kebabs and grilled meat in certain areas of Muscat, particularly in areas frequented by citizens and tourists at various times. This exclusion creates family and social challenges for them, not to mention the difficulties and financial obligations that result from these decisions.
At the same time, we find that Muscat Municipality is working to create specific locations for these young people who wish to work independently, in areas that do not harm families and the environment; and are far from people's homes, in order to ensure their comfort and privacy. However, it appears that the locations chosen by Muscat Municipality are not as frequented by tourists and customers as they are currently in tourist areas and along traffic lanes for motorists coming and going from one governorate to another.
In fact, municipalities should support small youth projects if they do not disrupt traffic and public safety. In doing so, they will contribute to solving the unemployment issue in society and provide more jobs for them.
Municipalities are expected to play a vital role in empowering youth and encouraging them to work in fields needed by Omani society, especially in light of Oman Vision 2040, which focuses on economic diversification and empowering youth in business. This work is complemented by supporting small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and entrepreneurship for youth. This can also be achieved by providing business incubators and co-working spaces at nominal prices, in addition to offering training courses in project management and digital marketing.
Municipalities around the world are now working to promote these businesses and encourage various groups of young people interested in buying, selling and farming. They encourage them to establish vertical farms or agricultural projects, provide small plots of land for modern agricultural investment in public parks they establish for pedestrians and train them in hydroponic and smart farming techniques. Municipalities also play a role in supporting community tourism projects, such as establishing "guest houses" or organising heritage tours. They provide jobs and training for young people in managing small tourism projects, such as running popular restaurants, selling traditional products and working as tour guides.
They also establish programmes to collect and recycle waste such as plastic, paper, electronics, pharmaceutical waste, used tyres and others; and help them transform this waste into useful projects in furniture, decor and energy.
What we need in Omani society is for municipalities to partner with national institutions to organise these activities and workshops, provide more facilities and eliminate bureaucracy. They also need to consider the work of young people by reducing licensing fees and granting them expedited permits for youth projects.
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