OMAN - Profile - Ahmad Bin Abdel Nabi 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 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 foreign affairs pl.n. Affairs concerning international relations and national interests in foreign countries. . 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 Mohammed Bin Mousa Al Yousef, a long-standing proponent One who offers or proposes. A proponent is a person who comes forward with an a item or an idea. A proponent supports an issue or advocates a cause, such as a proponent of a will. PROPONENT, eccl. law. of privatisation Noun 1. privatisation - changing something from state to private ownership or control denationalisation, denationalization, privatization social control - control exerted (actively or passively) by group action who retired from the cabinet. In his Dec. 16, 1997 cabinet reshuffle re·shuf·fle tr.v. re·shuf·fled, re·shuf·fling, re·shuf·fles 1. To shuffle again: reshuffle cards. 2. , when the changes were limited, the Sultan retained Rajiha Bint Abdel Amir, a prominent woman technocrat tech·no·crat n. 1. An adherent or a proponent of technocracy. 2. A technical expert, especially one in a managerial or administrative position. , 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 economic planning, control and direction of economic activity by a central public authority. In its modern usage, economic planning tends to be pitted against the laissez-faire philosophy which developed in the 18th cent. . Since January. 1996, the influential Secretary-General of the Economy Ministry, Mohammed Bin Nasser Al Khusaibi, was been vice president of Oman Oil Co. (OOC OOC Out of Character (online role-playing) OOC Out-Of-Character (gaming) OOC Out Of Control OOC Optical (WDM) Overhead Channel OOC Out-Of-Conference OOC Out of Context ). 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 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 two years invited bids for the supply of LNG LNG (liquefied natural gas): see under natural gas. tankers for a new state-controlled firm called Oman Shipping Co. One of the powerful figures under Makki is Abdel Malik Al Hinai, the under-secretary for economic affairs at the Economy Ministry. From a prominent family, Hinai keeps saying: "The most important thing is to create more jobs for Omanis", underlining un·der·lin·ing n. 1. The act of drawing a line under; underscoring. 2. Emphasis or stress, as in instruction or argument. Sultan Qaboos' emphasis on the Omanisation process. Like his boss Makki, Hinai 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 Mohammed 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 ODB Our Daily Bread ODB Object Database ODB Old Dirty Bastard (Wutang clan & rap group) ODB Old Dirty Bastard ODB Open Database ODB Ontario Drug Benefits ODB Cordoba Spain (airport code) ) and the Oman Bank for Agriculture and Fisheries fisheries. From earliest times and in practically all countries, fisheries have been of industrial and commercial importance. In the large N Atlantic fishing grounds off Newfoundland and Labrador, for example, European and North American fishing fleets have long (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 Adj. 1. standardised - brought into conformity with a standard; "standardized education" standardized standard - conforming to or constituting a standard of measurement or value; or of the usual or regularized or accepted kind; "windows of standard width"; 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 IPPs projects, 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 Petroleum Development of Oman (PDO) is the foremost exploration and production company in the Sultanate. It accounts for more than 90% of the country's crude-oil production and nearly all of its natural-gas supply. : In many ways and despite the fact that it is partly owned by foreign companies, PDO PDO Php Data Objects (PHP extension) PDO Protected Designation of Origin (EC) PDO Pacific Decadal Oscillation (weather) PDO Property Damage Only 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, as follows: Chairman: Oil & Gas Minister Romhi (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 Ismail Bin Ali Al Balushi. The Other Five Board Members: PDO Managing Director John Malcolm Shell's Oman Country Chairman John Crocker Shell Oman Executive Megat Zaharuddin Bin Megat Mohammed Nor Total Director Philippe Boisseau Partex Corp. Director Luis Moreno |
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