30/10/2014 04:48 AST
The public sector should come up with more innovative solutions in the services that it is providing to locals, expatriates and tourists to attain a higher level of competitiveness, said an Omani official.
"It is universally accepted that innovation in the public sector is imperative for the competitiveness of any nation. Historically, however, the incentives to innovate in the public sector have been lower, and risks often higher than in the business community," said His Highness Sayyid Faisal Al Said, Ithraa's director general of marketing and media, at the Oman Competitiveness Forum 2014.
Speakers from the government and the private sector from around the world discussed methods of driving public sector innovation and efficiency at the two-day forum, which began on Wednesday at Al Bustan Hotel under the patronage of Yahya bin Said Al Jabri, chairman of the Special Economic Zone Authority Duqm (Sezad).
Al Said noted that public service innovation may be considered in some cases as an optional extra or an added burden. "This way of thinking has to change," he said.
"Oman is becoming increasingly diverse and sophisticated and along with this, citizens' demands of their public services are changing. One consequence of this is the expectation that public services be available 24/7," said the official at Ithraa, which organised the event.
"The 8am to 3pm availability is no longer acceptable to a family where both parents work, and increasingly run much of their lives online. We aim to meet these expectations. Ultimately, our aim is to fit public services to the citizen, rather than vice versa," remarked Al Said.
"Our public sector is, I believe, fully open to change and innovation. The important thing is to make sure that it is for the better – and that, I firmly believe, is what we all hope to achieve and OCF is an important part in making that positive change happen," he noted.
He also added that public sector innovation addresses real life issues that impact each and every one.
"In my opinion, innovation is not about new or complex ideas, products or services. It is about creating something that works better, leads to better results and offers a better pathway forward. It is about getting good ideas adopted. It is about offering better and more efficient services. It is about improving lives," he said.
Day one of the forum ended with a special feature session on competitiveness which was included in response to the recent World Economic Forum's Global Competitiveness Index.
"Ithraa organises Oman Competitiveness Forum (OCF) each year because we are passionate about Oman's competitiveness as it has a direct bearing on the wellbeing of our citizens. We recognise that the key role it plays for a country to thrive and make its mark in today's fast-changing world. This feature session will explore how competitiveness is achieved as well as what it means," stated Al Said.
The Sultanate was ranked 46th out of 144 global economies in the 2014-15 Global Competitiveness Report, dropping 13 places from last year.
Restrictive labour regulations, inadequately educated workforce, inefficient bureaucracy and poor work ethics were some of the problematic factors raised in the survey.
Times of Oman
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