Riyada board meeting focus on Oman government procurement from small and medium sector

Muscat: Implementation of the provision to allocate 10 per cent of government procurement and tenders to small and medium enterprises was the main agenda of a meeting of the Board of Directors of the Public Authority for the Development of Small and Medium Enterprises (Riyada).
The board held its second meeting of the year under the chair of Dr. Ali bin Masoud Al Sunaidy, Minister of Commerce and Industry and Chairman of the Board of Directors.
The meeting reviewed the implementation-report of the decisions of Saih Al Shamikhat and the measures taken by relevant institutions to implement those decisions.
The meeting commended the measures taken by more than 37 government institutions by naming staff to follow the allocation of 10 per cent of government procurement and tenders for small and medium enterprises.
It also commended the provision of the Tender Board by those institutions with details of the procurement and tenders that have been assigned to these institutions.
The meeting stressed the importance for all government agencies to name staff to follow up this issue and to assign at least 10 per cent of the procurement and tenders for small and medium enterprises. The meeting gave instructions to the executive management of Riyada to continue to pursue this matter in coordination with the Tender Board.
The meeting was also briefed on the programmes and activities carried out by Riyada during the first half of this year and those planned to be implemented during the coming period.
The meeting stressed the importance of developing effectiveness indicators for these programmes, particularly their contribution in providing job opportunities for Omanis and increasing the contribution of small and medium enterprises in the national economy.
The meeting also stressed the importance of the partnership between Riyada and private sector companies in implementing a number of initiatives that support small and medium enterprises and entrepreneurship in the Sultanate. The meeting approved the conducting of 4th “Omani innovations” exhibition this year, on the condition that it is implemented in partnership with private sector companies, in addition to the implementation of the Entrepreneurship Award every two years so that the implementation of the third edition of the award will be in 2017, and it should implemented in cooperation and partnership with the private sector.
Due to the importance of expanding the services of Riyada to all citizens in all governorates of the Sultanate, the meeting instructed the executive management to coordinate with other concerned authorities to provide some of the services of Riyada through branches of these authorities in the governorates, as well as the expansion in the provision of services electronically.