Friday, March 29, 2024 | Ramadan 18, 1445 H
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EDITOR IN CHIEF- ABDULLAH BIN SALIM AL SHUEILI

Hidden trade a challenge facing labour market

Haider-al-Lawati
Haider-al-Lawati
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Haider al lawati -


haiderdawood@hotmail.com -


Questions raised by members of the Shura Council in each new term are characterised by sophistication, considering it is their duty to deliver the message to officials. Those questions are directly linked to matters concerning local affairs and issues of interest to the nation.


Among the topics raised in every meeting with the ministers of relevant service ministries is “hidden trade”, which was met at the last session of the Shura Council with Dr Ali bin Masoud al Sunaidi, Minister of Commerce and Industry, with great interest from both the guest and members of the Council.


Before delving into the subject of hidden trade, the minister linked some trade issues to this phenomenon in his annual statement, pointing out that the economic situation in the Sultanate in 2015 and 2016 was not the right time to declare the Bankruptcy Law.


He said the country should be in a good economic situation when issuing such laws to avoid the consequences of inability of some institutions to continue business.


He said the Ministry of Commerce and Industry (MoCI) refuses to adopt any economic project in 2018 without a comprehensive economic feasibility study.


The minister stressed that there is a law requiring each institution to provide tax disclosure, facilitating knowledge of hidden secrets, including hidden trade and paper companies, noting the presence of a team from MoCI, the Ministry of Manpower and Royal Oman Police to investigate companies suspected to be run by someone other than their owners.


The minister stressed that many of them have been suspended, while the MoCI is seeking to denounce decisions affecting the expansion of the industrial sector in the upcoming period to ensure the stability of this sector.


The members, on the other hand, enquired about the reasons behind the delay in issuing the hidden trade and other laws relating to the commerce and industry sectors, and the resulting loss of balance between the number of citizens and expatriates in the upper and middle positions in institutions and companies that are managed in the private sector.


The number of expatriates in these companies is increasing every year in parallel with those of Omani job-seekers in both the government and private sectors.


There are thousands of small companies in this sector that are managed on hidden trading bases. The predominant feature of many shops across the Omani governorates and wilayats is their owners are expatriates who benefit from these institutions and make annual transfers that directly affect the national economy.


According to recent figures, the value of remittances reached RO 3.952 billion at the end of 2016 ($10.27 billion) compared with RO 4.266 billion ($10.98 billion) in 2015, a 6.4 per cent drop due to declining number of foreign workers in companies and falling global oil prices on one hand, and deportation of a large number of fugitive and fraudulent workers on the other hand.


In a speech to citizens, His Majesty Sultan Qaboos said that “hidden trade erodes the economy of Oman and thus reduces opportunities for our sons and daughters to find the right job for them”, stressing that this act has become “totally unacceptable”.


The Omani society will understand, assimilate and sensitise everyone who lives around it so that the Omani citizen can work in an economic, competitive and healthy environment.


Over the years, hidden trade has become a negative phenomenon in Omani society, and a challenge facing the labour market and directly affecting the national economy. This phenomenon is also competing with small businesses managed by Omanis and therefore increasing the number of job-seekers, not to mention the negative impact of this trade and the unfair competition it creates for small Omani businesses, which are exposed to exploitation and commercial fraud.


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