Gulf states shaking up cushy public sector amid oil slump

Doha

AHMED, a Qatari civil servant, used to arrive at his office at a government ministry in Doha late in the morning and leave for home after lunch, collecting a monthly salary of 40,000 riyal (S$15,700) and a generous housing and travel allowance.

But last month a government official made a surprise spot check on the ministry's offices and found dozens of employees absent. "Punctuality is a duty," said a letter Ahmed received from the minister's office. "Qatar expects the best of its citizens."

For a country whose tiny population is the world's wealthiest per capita and which sits upon its largest natural gas reserves, increasing the productivity of its 90,000 public employees might seem like a needless task. But it is part of a trend across the Gulf as economies there try to lessen the burden of costly public sectors…