Muscat: Residents of Sohar have urged the government to guarantee them a percentage of the jobs generated in the industrial city to avoid future unrest.
Sohar is home to major industries, including a refinery, a port, an aluminium smelter and an iron ore pelletising plant. The government is also building an international airport. A free zone is being expanded and major foreign firms are negotiating with the government to set up factories there.
"We feel that most of the jobs here are taken up by people from Muscat. I think to create an atmosphere of harmony, the government must consider to impose a certain quota to force employers to recruit locals,- Ismail Khamis, a Sohar resident whose 23-year-old son is still looking for a job, told Times of Oman.
Last year, protesters in Sohar demanding jobs, clashed with the police but the government moved in quickly by creating thousands of jobs all across the country.
Oman produces thousands of graduates every year in a country which has one of the youngest populations in the world.
Sohar residents are convinced that with the current government investments in the Al Batinah area, there should be enough openings in the 12 months. However, they feel that the government must reserve at least 50 per cent of jobs for local graduates.
"In terms of economy, Sohar is now the second most important city in Oman after Muscat. The city is growing; that's why the government puts more money in it every year. However, we need half of these news jobs from new projects to be reserved for locals. Higher employment will generate new business opportunities, not only in Sohar, but in the neighbouring towns,- Khalifa Al Badri, a Sohar building contractor, said.
The government has pledged to create 30,000 jobs this year and a further 30,000 jobs in 2013. But like the mass employment initiated last year, most of the graduates will be employed by the government sector. A government official said that the private sector is reluctant to create openings.
"While the government is absorbing thousands in the civil service ministries, state projects and in the security services, the private companies generate much fewer jobs. We find the private sector is not taking our call to create jobs seriously,- a Manpower Ministry official, who declined to be identified, told Times of Oman.
With the finance ministry declaring a budget surplus of around RO1.5 billion in the first five months of this year, the government may well use the extra funds to push ahead with its priority of creating employment opportunities for the citizens.
© Times of Oman 2012
