Abdul Rahman Al Yahyaei - OPAL CEO
Many countries have successfully proven their achievements, in terms of the ICV , by enhancing the local content and keeping high percentage of the funds spent on developmental projects within its economical domain, by following the of policy of imposing high ratios in ICV.
In the Sultanate of Oman, we have entered maturity stage in the oil and gas sector. In 2013, the Ministry of Energy and Minerals announced the launch of the ICV strategy, to be implemented in the largest revenue generating sector in the country, which has high developmental expenses. The strategy completed its seventh year. However, we still face some questions like “Do we have a satisfactory output?”, “Has a sustainable environment been created for business and industry in particular, and is it sustainable in creating job opportunities for citizens in the sector? This question and others constantly come to my mind.
Today we are on the threshold of a new stage in the process of a renewed renaissance. Hence, the decision makers have to give due importance to the application of the ICV in various sectors, without exception. There should be a center or authority to govern the application of ICV standards, and to have coordination with the concerned authorities for tenders. It could either be the Tender board or the departments concerned with projects and procurement in the government establishments and companies. This authority would have the absolute validity to audit the systems of the companies, which implement ICV and to enact a law that punishes violating institutions that do not achieve the agreed ratios of compliance, honors institutions that adhere to ICV standards, and publishes best practices.
Private companies and institutions wishing to work with government agencies in the Sultanate must undergo an annual evaluation by one of the accredited certification bodies, in order to determine their compliance in the field of In-Country Value during the past fiscal year. Accordingly, the In-Country Value evaluation model is an essential part of the process of evaluating offers and awarding contracts, which is implemented by government agencies when offering their tenders, as these participating agencies require suppliers submitting their offers to attach an
ICV certificate attested by one of the approved certification bodies in order to annually verify the accuracy of the numbers contained therein. The In-Country Value (ICV) mark obtained by the supplier after applying evaluation criteria to it, including the type of manufactured goods, the supplier’s expenditure within the Sultanate, the amount of investment, and the localization percentage.
In order to take a step in this direction, an independent working group must be formed and have all powers to study the funds that remain inside the country and that go out through projects and contracts entrusted to companies or through government purchases. This committee should take the oil and gas sector as a model to study and benefit from its mature experience. This committee should also reviews international experiences that have made progress in this field, so that it can present a comprehensive integrated study for the decision maker. Hence, there is an urgent need of establishing an independent body for the purpose of following up on ICV implementation and ensuring enforcement of the concerned laws and regulations and follow up on its implementation.