MUSCAT, JULY 9 - The State Council on Tuesday approved the proposals on the sports club services and the regulation of biotechnology use at a session presided over by its Chairman Dr Yahya bin Mahfoudh al Mantheri and attended by the members and the Secretary-General. Social Committee head Dr Hamad bin Sulaiman al Salmi spoke about the proposal during the discussion on the committee report, ‘The reality of sports club services and ways to benefit from them to serve the community.’ He underscored the great interest shown by His Majesty Sultan Qaboos in promoting and developing the Omani society in all fields, and highlighted the special attention that His Majesty attaches to the interests of the Omani youth.
He explained that the study addressed the reality of the clubs, their origin, services, financial resources, infrastructure, administrative systems, asset investment and legislation. He stated that the committee has summarised a series of initiatives to achieve the objectives. To achieve its goals, the committee has made several recommendations, which it hopes, serve the clubs efficiently and facilitate their work and aim to reach the desired benefits to the community members and the nation. He concluded his speech by thanking individuals and entities who added value to the study.
Khamis Said Saif al Sulaimi, the rapporteur of the committee, reviewed the most important features of the study. This included the rationale behind the decline in the role of clubs in accommodating various groups, the deficient services provided to the community by most sports clubs, lack of resources that generate revenue for the clubs and the poor infrastructure of some clubs which hinders various activities.
He explained that the study aims to identify the reality of clubs in the Sultanate, review their legislation and identify the challenges that prevent the diversity of services provided by clubs to society.
In addition, Khamis outlined the recommendations and suggestions presented to help the clubs improve their services so that they can provide various services and programmes required by the community.
After discussion, the Council approved the formation of a technical drafting committee to include the opinions of the members.
The Council then discussed the proposal of ‘Promulgation of a law to regulate biotechnology usage, its products and the protection of genetic data in the Sultanate’ submitted by the Special Committee.
Dr Wafa Salim Ali al Harrasy, Head of the Special Committee formed to study this topic, explained that the rapid and successive development of biotechnology and its widespread use by the government and private stakeholders in the Sultanate require necessary legislation urgently to develop and regulate its use within a framework that supports and protects the public interests.
She noted that there are several types of biotechnology having different competencies and its vast benefits are accompanied by enormous potential for misuse, as it becomes part of human life and is used in all spheres of life.
The study recommended the need to find a specific entity responsible for legislation and control of the applications, use and products of biotechnology in the Sultanate, and the activation of national human resources with specialised qualifications and competencies in the various fields of biotechnology use in the Sultanate, and increase public awareness about technology, biosafety and the risks of misuse.
The proposal following discussion received approval with the formation of a technical drafting committee to include their opinions.
The State Council will hold its 17th Regular Session of the 6th Term on Wednesday, to discuss the proposal of the “framework and determinants of the Public Debt Law “ submitted by the Economic Committee, as well as a number of reports on several topics.
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