Oman Daily Observer

Update data, protect citizens...

- Ali Al Matani ali.matani2@gmail.com

It is extremely important to update and manage data. This is because it has huge benefits for the government organisati­ons, individual­s and society. But unfortunat­ely, some do not fully comprehend or realise the magnitude of the issue. They fail to update data due to one reason or the other. Ultimately, it is the citizen who suffers because of this attitude.

There are many examples of such inappropri­ate practices which at the end harms citizens of the country. For example, in case of labourers running away, it happens many times that the data of such people is not updated by the offices concerned, even though they are informed by the citizens and even if the citizens deposit the ticket money with the office concerned and fulfil all procedures. Ideally, once the citizen informs about it and pays all his or her dues, their responsibi­lity ends. The fleeing or absconding worker or illegal residents are now the responsibi­lity of the state. This requires the authoritie­s concerned to update the data and punish those who do not do so. Otherwise, it causes more burden and problems for the citizens just because of not updating the data.

The matter does not end here. When a citizen seeks permission to hire another worker, he has to pay more fee because it is considered that he already has extra workers. In such cases many citizens end up paying more than they are supposed to pay. This happens without them realising that their data was not updated. If there had been proper management of the data, he could have been saved from paying more.

The same thing happens in the case of sale and purchase of lands or property. If the data is not updated, the property or the land remains in the name of the same owner. This creates lot of issues and complexiti­es at later stages.

There are many such practices which need to be corrected without any delay. In the absence of the sense of responsibi­lity, the citizens become victims.

Should a citizen be barred from hiring an employee from abroad or blackliste­d just because his data was not updated properly.

In some cases, fines up to tens of thousands of rials are levied on a citizens just because his worker has run away. This happens even if the citizens inform the authoritie­s concerned about the incident, and have paid the fare. When they approach the office after a few years, he is told that he has to pay fines which were due for many years. If a citizen has no documents with him, he will have to end up paying huge amount.

There are modern systems which have revolution­ised the process of updating the data and keeping the informatio­n fresh. These systems have reduced time and efforts which were earlier required for doing the job manually. The only commitment which is required is to correctly and responsibl­y update data. It is unfortunat­e that some undermine this huge responsibi­lity. Many have lot of work therefore, they fail to do this important job.

There are many related practices which require good data management. This is necessary to prevent citizens from falling victim to this.

Of course, there are those who harness modern technologi­es, develop them, and utilise them properly. But there are many who indulge in wrong practices of ignoring the updating of data and the citizen ends up paying the price.

We hope that the data will be updated properly, and is not ignored in any case.

In the digital era and revolution in informatio­n and communicat­ion technology, if there are complaints about any negligence in updating data and informatio­n, the issue should be taken seriously.

THERE ARE MANY SUCH PRACTICES WHICH NEED TO BE CORRECTED WITHOUT ANY DELAY. IN THE ABSENCE OF THIS CITIZENS NEED TO PAY THE PRICE

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