A competent autocrat

I am no fan of autocrat rulers. Most are plunderers who like nothing more than lining their pockets and the pockets of everybody in the family. Not surprisingly countries ruled by autocrats tend to be dogged by high-level corruption and poor economic prospects.

The current sultan of Oman, Qaboos Bin Said Al Said, seems to do better than the rest. Since his ascent to power in 1970, the man is credited with bringing his country out of poverty by pushing daring economic reforms. Oman has also become more tolerant than other countries in the Arabic peninsula, with minorities having their religious and economic rights somewhat respected, which is to say a lot in the region.

For example Qaboos Bin Said Al Said is credited with imposing a ban on large scale fishing from factory ships. The destruction of local fish stocks had required a swift response, and the sultan provided immediate leadership on the issue. Again, not your average autocrat.

The sultan can see beyond the oil. Whereas next door Saudi Arabia has yet to open a tourism office, Oman is moving quickly to grab its share of the fat tourism pie. The sultan has ordered the complete restoration of Oman’s major landmarks and infrastructure for tourists is mushrooming everywhere. No serious restoration work had been performed on Oman’s major historical landmarks before Sultan Qaboos Bin Said Al Said.

The sultan wants tourists, but not at all cost. The infrastructure is being developed in a way that seeks not to repeat Dubai’s famous mistakes of building high concrete towers and leaving no place for the common man to live. There are strict limits on architectural designs and height. High-priced, chaotic urban design will simply not be allowed in Oman.

To give you an idea of the changes that occurred under the sultan’s watch, at the beginning of 1970 Oman had 7 km of asphalt road, one hospital with 20 beds, no university, and only a handful of schools. The sultan’s record is impressive, to say the least.

This may well explain why Oman has sailed through the “Arab spring” relatively unscathed. While many Arab nations have fallen into anarchy as a result of popular uprising, most Omanis remained staunchly behind their sultan.

All in all Ania and I have been impressed by the actions of the Sultan. He remains an autocrat and that in itself is a problem. But it looks like at the helm of Oman is one the few autocrats with a vision.