Yearbook 2019
Qatar. According to
CountryAAH, Qatar has two problems. Firstly, it is the
criticism of the sporting events one organizes (this year's
Athletics World Cup and the Soccer World Cup 2022), and
secondly, it is the ongoing boycott of neighboring
countries, which has its basis in allegations that Qatar
favors terrorism.
In May, the head of a Qatari TV sports channel, Nasser
Al-Khelaifi, was accused of paying bribes for Qatar to host
the 2019 Athletics Championships, and in June, French
football star Michel Platini was arrested for involvement in
a scandal that gave the country Soccer World Cup 2022.
According to the British newspaper Sunday Times, Qatar
should have paid the equivalent of more than SEK 9 billion
to the International Football Association (FIFA) to take
care of the football party.
Linked to these sports scandals is also the large number
of guest workers in Qatar. Every year, hundreds of guest
workers die of heat stroke in the country. During the
summer, hundreds of thousands of people worked in heat up to
45 degrees, including the construction of the 2022 Soccer
World Cup. According to the authorities, there is a ban on
body work in direct sunlight in the middle of the day, but
the heat can still be fatal at other times of the day. It is
often young men who lose their lives due to heart problems -
or "natural causes," as the authorities call it.
During the year most of the last parts of the so-called
Kafal system were scrapped. It was a refined job trafficking
system, which meant that in order to obtain a residence and
work permit, someone, usually the employer, had to guarantee
their stay in the country. The employer could therefore
seize the employee's passport and also sell/rent the
employee's services. The new rules do not require permission
from the employer to change jobs or leave the country, and
the promised minimum wage will start to apply at the end of
2019/20.
The Emir of Qatar, Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, announced in
November that the country was doing well during the two-year
boycott and that national elections could soon be held.
Whether this is done before or after the World Cup 2022 is
not clear. Probably it will be after.
On January 1, the VAT on alcohol was increased to 100%.
Sales of alcohol in hotels and clubs are allowed in Qatar,
but now it was twice as expensive.
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