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State Council Chairman appreciates the efforts of NCSI

The State Council discussed on Tuesday, the project "Statistics and Information Law " referred by the Council of Ministers and the report of the Economic Committee  on it, at its sixth ordinary session of the fourth annual term of the sixth period. It also approved the report of the Joint Committee of the State Council and Majlis A’Shura based on the articles of the variation in the project  ‘Law Regulating  the Practice of Medicine & Allied Medical Professions’.
 
The session chaired by H.E. Dr. Yahya bin Mahfoudh Al Manthri, State Council Chairman, was held in the presence of the honourable members and the Secretary-General of the Council.
H.E. Dr. Yahya bin Mahfoudh, in his opening speech, reviewed the agenda of the Session and said that  it  would discuss the Draft Law of Statistics and Information  referred by the Council of Ministers and the report of the Economic Committee on it. He noted in this regard the efforts of the National Centre for Statistics and Information (NCSI).  
The Council Chairman further added that the seventh  session, scheduled to be held on Wednesday will discuss the project ‘(law) the unified system regulating the activity of companies and private institutions working in the field of urgent mail and parcels for the GCC countries’, forwarded by the Council of Ministers and the  report of the Economic Committee.  It would additionally discuss the proposal on Mining submitted by the Special Committee, as well as the proposal that the Committee for Education and Research desires to study about utilising the services of retired individuals. The session will also note the Secretariat Report and reports pertaining to the Council’s work.
H.E.Dr. Yahya bin Mahfoudh, prayed for Al Mighty’s guidance for successful work to drive the progress of Oman under the wise leadership of His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said.
Hon.Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdullah Al-Harthy, Head of the Economic Committee presented the Committee's statement on the project ‘Statistics and Information Law’.
He explained that the project included 37 articles, divided into six chapters, namely:  General definitions and provisions, status, means of collecting data and information, obligations of the existing and in charge of statistical activities, availability of data and information and penalties.
Further, he noted that the draft law was in keeping with the changes and developments in this field and included important details, as compared to the Statistical Law promulgated by Royal Decree No. (29/2001).
He pointed out that the Committee agreed with the opinion of both the Majlis A’Shura and the Legal Committee on most of the articles of the project, while it considered redrafting some articles and retaining some as contained in the Law.
Al-Harthy expressed the hope that the new Law would contribute to the development of statistical work in the Sultanate and reflect positively on the performance of the National Center for Statistics and Information.
The explanatory memorandum of the Law highlighted the appropriateness of its timing in view of the need to change the current statistical law, which has been in place for about fifteen years, in keeping with national and international trends towards the centralization of statistical work and in line with developments in modern statistical and informatics systems.
The main objectives of the Law are to provide authoritative official statistics in all areas, contribute to the updating of statistical indicators to keep pace with the rapid development of information and establish national standards for official statistics in the Sultanate in accordance with international best practices.
It would also build a set of standards and methods that ensure reliable official statistics, as well as enable stakeholders to produce reliable official statistics for policymaking and use in planning, performance monitoring and evaluation.