Muscat: The office of Majlis Ash’shura discussed a number of topics at a meeting held on Tuesday including a message from the Council of Ministers regarding a visual display by the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Investment Promotion on the economic impact of the agreement the Sultanate had signed with other countries and economic organizations.
The office reviewed some draft laws including amendments of articles (20, 21) of the Advocacy Law. It also discussed a number of monitoring tools stated by the Council of Oman Law.
The office looked into the issue of the nationalization of senior positions at the banking and finance sector as some members of Majlis Ash’shura stated their desire for the importance of having national leaders alongside international executives. The office decided to refer the matter to the Youth and Human Resources Committee for study.
The office discussed a started desire for approving Arabic language as the official language that should be used by companies operating in the Sultanate as stipulated by the Basic Law of the State as the majority of private sector companies and some of the state companies use English language thereby hampering Omanization efforts. The office decided to refer the matter to the Media and Culture and the Youth and Human Resource committees.
The office also looked into a question presented to the minister of commerce, industry and investment promotion as to manufacturing gypsum instead of exporting it as raw material which generates meager revenues for the state. The office ratified the proposal and decided to refer it to the Council of Ministers.
The office also approved a request for briefing presented to the chairman of Oman Investment Authority (OIA) regarding Oman Mining Company and Minerals Development Oman (MDO) which included inquiries about cumulative loans on Oman Mining Company and the fate of the Omani workforce employed by the company under the current financial crisis. It also included queries about the projects executed by MDO since its foundation and the number of Omanis employed by the company. The office decided to refer the subject to the Council of Ministers.
The office of Majlis Ash’shura reviewed the reply presented by the minister of finance, chairman of the board of directors of the Capital Market Authority (CMA), to a parliamentary question regarding the exclusion of the companies affiliated to the Oman Investment Authority (OIA) from the principles of corporate governance pursuant to the administrative decision No 60/2020 issued by the CMA. The reply explained that the CMA has followed certain steps for exempting companies affiliated to the OIA. Those steps are based on legal principles such as article (20) of the Commercial Companies Law. The office decided to refer the subject to the next meeting of Majlis Ash’shura.
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