DOHA: An official survey suggesting that Qataris spent much less time on income-generating activities has kicked up a row, prompting the planning ministry to issue a clarification.
Some public representatives objected to the survey whose findings on Monday said the average Qatari spent barely a few hours a day on income-generating activities.
If Qataris didn’t work hard, Qatar wouldn’t be where it is today in terms of economic and social advancement, said a public representative.
Mohamed bin Ali Al Athba, member of the Central Municipal council (CMC), told local Arabic daily Al Arab in remarks published yesterday he rejected the survey’s results.
“Citizens get up quite early in the morning and begin their work which lasts until 2pm,” said Al Athba.
It is not true, as suggested by the survey, that nationals spend more time sleeping and shopping, he added.
“They go shopping once a week, and mostly shopping for them is done by their drivers.”
“Go to the airport and see. You will find Qataris working there for eight hours at a stretch,” said Al Athba.
And housewives don’t spend so much time on entertainment as suggested by the survey. They have the household and children to take care of.
Meanwhile, a senior official from the Ministry of Development Planning and Statistics, said at a news briefing yesterday that the lower average working hours mentioned in the survey were the average for the country’s entire population and not for Qataris alone.
Economically active Qatari men on average actually spend eight hours and 11 minutes a day on income-generating activities and this average was seven hours and 26 minutes for (economically active) Qatari women.
The survey on ‘time use’ was conducted on 16,574 men and women (both, Qataris and expatriates) in the country for the first time, said Nasser Saleh Al Mehdi, head of Family Survey Department at the Ministry.
The lower average released on Monday was for the entire population consisting of both, economically active and non-active people, he said.
Qatari students, on the other hand, spent eight hours and 19 minutes studying.
These figures were for men. Female students devoted eight hours and 24 minutes to studies.
These are the best averages in the world and not less than the figures for the advanced countries, said Al Mehdi.
The Peninsula
