OMAN - Ahmad Bin Abdel-Nabi Al-Makki.

In October 1995 Makki was made deputy premier for economic and financial affairs to replace Qais al-Zawawi who died in a car crash on Sept.11, 1995. On Dec. 19, 1995 Makki was made minister of the national economy and acting minister of finance. In the subsequent years, while retaining the economy and finance portfolios, Makki was made deputy chairman of the Financial Affairs and Energy Resources Council. This council is chaired by Sultan Qaboos. Makki has since retained all his posts.

Sultan Qaboos used to retain the finance portfolio to himself, along with those of defence and foreign affairs. Giving it to Makki meant the latter was to become an influential figure in the government. Previously, Makki was minister of civil service in charge of the Omanisation drive (one of the Sultan's top priorities) and deputy chairman of the Central Bank.

On Dec. 16, 1997, Makki was reconfirmed as minister of economy and finance and was given the development portfolio which he integrated into his ministry. As a result he has since become more powerful. Previously the development ministry was under Muhammad bin Mousa al-Yousef, a long-standing proponent of privatisation who retired from the cabinet.

In his Dec. 16, 1997 cabinet reshuffle, when the changes were limited, the Sultan retained Rajiha bint Abdel Amir, a prominent woman technocrat, as undersecretary for development affairs but she was placed under Makki. Sultan Qaboos appointed two other women to senior positions: Fawzia Nasser al-Farisi, as undersecretary at the education ministry; and Thuwayba Ahmad al-Barawan, as undersecretary for social affairs at the ministry of labour and social affairs.

Makki also succeeded Zawawi as deputy chairman of the Supreme Council for Economic Planning. Since January 1996, the influential Secretary-General of the Economy Ministry, Muhammed bin Nasser al-Khusaibi, was been vice president of Oman Oil Co. (OOC). In addition, Khusaibi is the deputy chairman of PDO's board of directors. Previously, Khusaibi used to head Zawawi's office. Makki is represented on PDO's board also by Darwish bin Ismail bin Ali al-Balushi, the under-secretary for financial affairs at the Ministry of Finance.

Thus Makki, now a super-minister, has considerable influence over the petroleum sector, both through these figures and in his capacity as deputy chairman of the Financial Affairs and Energy Resources Council. The Oman Tender Board, under Makki's Ministry of Finance, is in charge of the tendering of all state projects and orders. It is this board which in the past four years invited bids for the supply of LNG tankers for a new state-controlled firm called Oman Shipping Co. It is Macki who has signed all the ship orders.

One of the powerful figures under Makki is Abdel Malik al-Hina'i, the under-secretary for economic affairs at the Economy Ministry. From a prominent family, Hina'i keeps saying: "The most important thing is to create more jobs for Omanis", underlining Sultan Qaboos' emphasis on the Omanisation process. Like his boss Makki, Hina'i plays a key role in the privatisation process.

Shaikh Abdel-Aziz bin Matar al-Azizi, governor of Nizwa, was in October 1995 made minister of the civil service to replace Makki. Health Minister Ali bin Muhammad bin Mousa was given Makki's other position as deputy chairman of the Central Bank. But Azizi was not included in the cabinet formed on May 14, 2001 as the civil service portfolio was abolished.

Makki and Commerce and Industry Minister Maqbool Bin Ali Bin Sultan were behind the merger in mid-1997 of Oman Development Bank (ODB) and the Oman Bank for Agriculture and Fisheries (OBAF). The merged entity, called ODB, provides financing for all small farming, fishing, industrial, commercial and service projects. Only ventures with a total investment of less than OR250,000 ($650,000) are entitled to ODB support.

As a result of the merger, loan terms have been standardised for all projects. Borrowers pay 3% interest on loans of up to 10 years and get a five-year grace period. Very small loans are interest free.

Makki, the key man in the sultanate's privatisation programme, has strongly backed all private ventures in the fields of infrastructure, the power business such as the new IWPPs, and the downstream oil and gas industries.

Makki has the ear of Sultan Qaboos on many matters, including relations with the US and other Western powers. In one of his previous positions, Makki was Oman's ambassador to Washington.

Petroleum Development Oman: In many ways and despite the fact that it is partly owned by foreign companies, PDO acts as a national petroleum concern because it handles most of the projects that are of strategic importance to the sultanate. It acts on behalf of the government in its gas E&P operations, as well as producing the bulk of Oman's oil. The importance of PDO to the government is shown by the make up of its ten-member board of directors. The members include the following:

Chairman: Oil & Gas Minister Rumhi (see his profile in OMT).

Deputy Chairman: Economy Ministry's Secretary-General Mohammed B. N. al-Khusaibi

Member: Oil & Gas Under-secretary Nasser bin Khamis al-Jashmi (see OMT).

Member: Oil & Gas Development Director Zaid bin Khamis al-Siyabi (see OMT).

Member: Finance Ministry Under-secretary Darwish bin Isma'il bin Ali al-Balushi.

Member: PDO Managing Director John Malcolm.