Shura proposes spokesperson to liaise with media outlets in Oman

Muscat: Appointing an official spokesperson for ministries, authorities, establishments and government directorates, who will be responsible for liaising with media outlets regarding statements and clarifications, has been proposed by the Shura Council during its latest meeting.
The role of the official spokesperson will also involve responding to queries made by the media, including coordination with the establishment on news and information published that serves public interest.
Other related points, which are being studied, are that the official spokesperson will announce updates about the workplace, as well as disseminate information about issues related to the establishment in a clear form to media outlets.
Government establishments, which have several departments or specialties, must appoint several spokespersons related to the department or have a specialty in that establishment.
The officials (executives, managers, anyone responsible) in government establishments shall give the spokesperson the authority to respond to media outlets without having to wait for permission from higher authorities.
Government establishments should also look at other organisations, who have successfully appointed a spokesperson and learn from their success, it was discussed.
“Having the Right to Information Law is extremely valuable: it can be used to hold the government accountable for its actions and improve the transparency of the system, but it could also be very useful for academics, researchers, and businesses as government information can be repurposed in many different ways.
“Oman already has other laws in place that regulate government information, such as the State Documents Classification Law, the Law of Records and Archives, and the Law of the National Centre for Statistics and Information.
“If Oman decided to introduce a Right to Information Law, this new law would have to work in tandem with all these existing rules that regulate how the government’s information is classified, preserved, and published,” said Riyadh Al Balushi, an Omani government lawyer.