Proper governance is the way to a better future

The government is all set to embark on the path to achieve “Vision of Oman 2040.” There are lots of hopes and aspirations attached to the idea of qualitative transformation in the Omani society. With this vision, it is expected that all the sectors of the government would be more agile and dynamic to match with the global developments with the help of technologies. However, this will be impossible without proper governance. This is required to make all ministries and authorities more capable to adapt. All this is possible through the elaborate frameworks, legislations and executive procedures which re-engineer the work of the state. They need to be more comprehensive and practical so that it is to the satisfaction of all. This is why there was the need for organising a Conference on Governance in the Public Sector to chalk out the path to better future. This is one of the important and most appropriate means to improve the work of the government. There is no doubt that the governance in the Sultanate of Oman is continuously scaling new heights and it has become a culture in various government organisations of different types. This is now well understood that proper governance is the way to the better future. It is important that the government organisations understand that they should not interfere in each other’s works and abide by their responsibilities and duties as made crystal clear by their rules and regulations. Lots of studies have been carried out highlighting the situation of governance in the public sector and if they make them capable to reach to their goals. The Royal Decree No 30/2015 was aimed at strengthening governance in public sector companies and helped in the management of work in these companies and protect their funds and assets by reducing overlap of the powers of boards of directors and executive management. This Royal Decree has made things crystal clear so that there is no confusion and conflict of interest and powers between the board of directors and executive management. It saved public money from going in into drain. The business society also became aware of its importance. Roadmaps should be prepared for the entire public sector. It should resolve issues and causes of conflicts of powers and determine responsibilities and stop all sorts of external interventions. This will help in laying down principles of management of business on sound basis. The governance in the public sector if integrated with technical approach will save time and efforts. This will help in providing services through machines and set right course for the work. There is no doubt that lots of activities, seminars and conferences were organised to instill the culture of governance in the society. But it would not bring results overnight. We are hopeful that the conference on “Governance of Public Administration” to be organised by the Institute of Public Administration in cooperation with the Center for Governance and Sustainability and the Arab Organization for Administrative Development affiliated to the League of Arab States, on December 16-18, would be successful in achieving its objectives and introduce new features and characteristics to the public sector.