Sultan Haitham completes one year on the throne

Our Correspondent

On the first anniversary of his accession to the throne on January 11, His Majesty Sultan Haitham bin Tareq of Oman issued two royal decrees regarding a new mechanism for the transfer of power in the Sultanate and appointment of the crown prince. He also pardoned 285 prisoners including 118 foreigners.

The new decrees conform with the strategic “Vision Oman 2040”, an ambitious roadmap for transforming Oman to a knowledge-based society and help it join the orbit of the top developed nations of the world under the astute leadership of His Majsty the Sultan and in line with the Royal Directives of late His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said.

Decree No.6 of 2021 is about setting a mechanism to determine the crown prince’s powers as well as to highlight the principle of the rule of law and the independence of judiciary as a basis for governance in the country. The new statute will emphasize the state’s role in ensuring more rights and freedoms for citizens, most notably equality between men and women, welfare of children, disabled people and youth. It also underlines compulsory basic education, establishment of universities, promoting scientific research, and also attracting and retaining talent.

The statute will dedicate a special chapter to follow up and monitor government performance by establishing a committee that affiliates directly to Sultan Haitham. The committee will follow up and evaluate the performance of ministers, deputy ministers and other officials of similar rank. The State’s Financial Supervision and Administration Authority will play an important role in achieving this governance.

A local administration system will be established and the Council of Oman will play an important role in the comprehensive development of the Sultanate. Decree No.7 of 2021 has defined the prerogatives, conditions for membership and members’ rights and duties, and other affairs of the Council.

The council will be responsible for endorsing or amending laws referred by the government, discussing development plans and state budgets. It also sets standards for follow-up of the Shura Council.