Sounds like (based on this thread of comments) that you're arguing that this should be a framework, where all the boring stuff is already taken care of, for run-of-the-mill, enterprisey projects.

Some people are doing things that don't fit neatly in such frameworks, and when that happens, they're fighting against it rather than actually choosing what they want to code.

If it is so onerous that not having QtSQL is a deal killer, then it sounds like Qt has some weird problems with how it's API is designed preventing it from being flexible. Otherwise, if it it easy to load your own data in to Qt from whatever source, SQL or not, then not having QtSQL is fine, it just means an extra hour of coding and a little extra boilerplate, whoopdeedoo.