Building an inclusive Oman

Since His Majesty Sultan Haitham bin Tarik has assumed the reins of power in the country, he has shown keen interest in the deserving segments of the society and their rehabilitative institutions.

All such organisations have seen extraordinary increase and growth. He has directed required support to social security groups and to those with limited income. All this was to strengthen them with everything which can be provided. The objective was to ensure them a life with dignity. While doing this, interests of all these segments were also considered. However, the principle which remained on top of the policies was achieving equality in the society.

Managing the responsibilities of the state is not an easy matter. But the wisdom of His Majesty the Sultan has made many aspects of the affairs of the state easy to handle. With all the complexities and intricacies of statecraft, our leader never missed the opportunity to take everybody in the society together. He has balanced economic affairs so that despite all the challenges, people remain untouched by the adverse effects and continue to grow.

To make his strategy of overall development and growth of the society, he utilised all apparatus and institutions. In his policies, people of the country with all segments are at the centre. He has always been candid and clear in this thinking. This is the reason none of the ill-intended elements were successful in influencing the minds of the people. Every passing day, the confidence of the people has grown and strengthened in the leadership. This is a role model worth following.

Perhaps His Majesty’s directive to establish the (Social Protection) system to become the umbrella that provides all means of a decent life for the deserving of the people, and thus it is considered one of the most important factors that will improve living standards and improve the social and economic life of large segments and reduce the life burdens of many who may be affected by the urgent financial reform measures taken by the government.

During these few years of his leadership, what we have noticed prominently is that he developed an umbrella of social security for the people of the Sultanate of Oman so that they live with dignity and look forward for a more prosperous future. Perhaps, this is the reason the improvement in the living standards was visible in all segments of the society in every nook and corner of the country.

It was his idea that those who live with the social security grants should be disbursed an additional amount in January 2020. Under this plan, 73,271 people benefited from the amount which was more than RO 7.5 million. In April 2021, His Majesty, the Sultan directed that an initiative should begin to support insolvent families, by disbursing monthly financial assistance for a period of 4 months. A whopping 8,136 people benefited from RO 6,333,400 under this scheme. In May the same year, additional assistance was given to 6,304 people with a total amount of RO 288,075. Additional aid was also given as social assistance to 2,700 people with a total amount of RO 233,189 in October 2021.

In the year 2022, support was given to governmental and private rehabilitation centres which work for people with disabilities under royal directive. Ten thousand Omani riyals were given to each centre. There were 42 centres which benefited from this scheme. A total RO 420,000 was spent under this programme.

In the same year, His Majesty, the Sultan directed financial support to be provided to Omani women’s associations. Twenty thousand Omani riyals were given to each of the 64 associations. For this scheme, an amount of RO 1.280 million was spent. In April 2022, an additional pension was disbursed for social security segments. Under this, 73,115 people benefited from a total amount of RO 7,358,826. In August the same year, directions were given to give school supplies for social security and limited-income families. More than twenty four thousand male and female students got its benefit. RO 1,671,200 was spent on this programme.

These are just a few examples of the initiatives taken under the directives of His Majesty the Sultan. They just reflect the approach of the leadership which keeps all segments of the society at the forefront.