Working group to combat begging in Oman meets

Muscat: A meeting of the joint working group to combat begging, consisting of the Undersecretary of the Ministry of Social Development and representatives from the Royal Oman Police, Public Prosecution and the Ministry of Manpower has been held.

A statement issued online by Oman News Agency (ONA), said: "The joint working group held a meeting yesterday, under the chairmanship of His Excellency Dr. Yahya Bin Badr Al Maawali, Undersecretary of the Ministry of Social Development, with the membership of representatives from the Royal Oman Police, Public Prosecution and the Ministry of Manpower."

"During the meeting, it was agreed to establish an operations room and prepare an executive program to combat the problem of begging, in addition to distributing the roles and tasks that each party would undertake to implement the control plan."

His Excellency indicated, "This problem did not exist in Omani society and it has increased during the recent period due to sympathy by families and individuals towards beggars." He called on everyone to join hands and cooperate to eliminate this phenomenon while stressing that there are specialised institutions for those in need.