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Back to the future

H E Ahmed al Dheeb, Undersecretary, Ministry of Commerce and Industry, says that after completing the tasks of repair and rehabilitation, the economic growth of the sultanate will continue as planned
A BusinessToday exclusive

What has been the damage to industry in Oman as a result of Gonu?

As far as the industry is concerned, thanks to God, there were no reports of any material damage that occurred in any of the six industrial estates in Rusayl, Sohar, Raysut, Sur, Nizwa and Buraimi or in Knowledge Oasis Muscat (KOM). However, some factories were indirectly affected as a result of electricity and water cuts for a limited period of time, or damage to some stocks, but that had no significant effect on their operations. Some metal fabrication and carpentry workshops and factories in Wadi Adai, in addition to one plant at Al Ghubra, were affected.

But in general, we can say that basic industries and exporting industries did not suffer directly from the adverse effects of the Cyclone Gonu, except for the lost opportunity and time for exports during the period for which the port was closed as a safety measure. The ministry will be ready to study any case or problem that the Omani industries are facing as a result of Gonu. Already, the ministry has formed teams to visit the affected businesses to assess the damages suffered by them and the required cost of rehabilitation.

How will the cost of funding the rehabilitation affect other government priorities? In the short term and long term, how will the cyclone affect Oman’s economy?

Of course, some businesses in the country were affected and in the short term, the effects of the cyclone would result in giving priority to reconstruction and repairing of the damaged infrastructure projects such as roads and utilities and resolve the problems of the affected businesses. These projects and businesses would have to be given priority over the projects of the Seventh Five Year Plan, and be completed as soon as possible.

In the long run, we believe that the projects of the Five Year Plan will be resumed and the cyclone will not have an adverse effect on Oman’s economy. We have full confidence that the economic growth of the sultanate will continue as planned, after completing the task of repairing and rehabilitating infrastructure projects affected by the cyclone.

Has there been any instance where the Ministry of Commerce and Industry’s intervention was sought by private businesses?

The ministry did not wait for the business community to come seeking help. As a matter of fact, we took the initiative of being in continuous contact with the businesses and industries to offer them any help to solve their problems during this period. This help inclu-ded helping them tackle any problem, even such as supplying bakeries with water or transporting flour for them from Oman Flour Mills to continue production, or releasing essential raw materials for water bottling plants from the custom department in Sultan Qaboos Port without delay, to be able to produce and supply the public with drinking water.

What kind of a system did you have in place to deal with black marketers as well as shopkeepers raising the prices of essential commodities?

The Ministry of Commerce and Industry was, and still is, monitoring the markets closely, especially the retail shops selling groceries and foodstuff and water distribution tankers. For this purpose, the ministry has formed two taskforces, consisting of several teams.

The first taskforce is concerned with consumer protection and following up on any complaints from the public about shopkeepers or retailers increasing the prices unjustifiably. Three hotlines were kept working 24 hours with staff members working in shifts to receive public complaints and act on them immediately. These numbers were announced by the National Committee for Civil Defence (NCCD), and one of them was the usual hotline of the consumer protection department, and we added to it another two lines to meet the increased number of calls because of the present situation. In case of complaints, the ministry staff would act right away to visit the location and investigate the consumer evidence of his complaint, in coordination with the Royal Oman Police.

For the cases of black market situation and exploitation of the emergency condition, which was limited and not that widespread, legal action according to the consumer protection law was taken against the violators. But in most cases we found that the retailers have been cooperative and supportive. Some of them were even selling below the normal market prices to help fellow citizens. The work of this taskforce is still continuing for the protection of consumers.

The second taskforce was concerned with ensuring the availability and validity of essential food items in the shops. Teams under this taskforce, from various departments of the ministry, were visiting all the areas of the Muscat Governorate. They visited shops to investigate whether there is any shortage of essential commodities and foodstuff and check its viability for human consumption, especially food items that must be kept frozen, which might have been affected as a result of electricity cuts.

Also, care was given to advise and explain to retail shops that it was very important to dispose of any spoilt foodstuff and not to sell them to customers.

Based on these field visits, the taskforce collected information about important items missing from the shelves. Hence, the ministry was able to inform main suppliers and wholesalers to supply the retailer’s shops with such items to meet the demand of the consumers.