Tag Archives: south-africa
RTA customer services now on fingertips
RTA customer services now on fingertips Lily B. Libo-on / 20 January 2014 The week-long event also highlights presentations of RTA’s different services daily with the department’s respective CEO leading the team. Ahmed Hashim Bahrozyan, (centre) at RTA’s Customer Service Week at The Dubai Mall on Sunday. — KT photo by Leslie Pableo The Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) is now online in all its services — from renewal of driving licence and vehicle registration to getting and paying Salik, NoL cards, and retrieving items left in taxis, buses and the Metro. Even for complaints against taxi and bus drivers or dissatisfaction over RTA services, customers only need to dial 8009090, the call centre of RTA, which is connected to all RTA departments online. Or they may choose their computers, laptops, iPhones, iPads, notebooks and tablets or smart phones to click on the RTA website, www.rta.ae and register their complaints or needs. RTA’s all online services are the focus of its one-week ‘Customer Service Week’, which started on Sunday. The campaign, now on at the Star Atrium at the lower ground floor of The Dubai Mall, will continue till January 23. Ahmed Hashem Bahrozyan, CEO of Licensing Agency and Head of Higher Committee, Customer Service, opened the ‘Customer Service Week’ launched by the RTA to drum up information and showcase its diverse services to the public. In attendance were various RTA officials and staff. The week-long event also highlights presentations of RTA’s different services daily with the department’s respective CEO leading the team. All queries from expatriates, residents and visitors on the timing of the various modes of public transport, where and how to get Salik, NoL cards for daily and monthly usage, how to find personal items left in the taxis, Dubai Metro and buses, and where to complain against public transport drivers are all answered in the presentations. Motorists can now renew their driving licences and registration of their cars without going to RTA. They can either use their smart phones to download Salik application and wojhati application from App Store for iPhones and Play Store from other mobiles, register in the online form and send to RTA. Within 48 hours, if there is no problem with the car registration and driving licence like unpaid fines and penalties, the driving license and registration are renewed automatically. Then, RTA will send them to the applicants by either Aramex private courier or by Emirate Post. Lost items too can be reported without going to the RTA. The owner only has to call the call centre, and the person answering the call will ask about his or her NoL card number. With this information, the call centre will fan out the information to all Dubai Metro, taxi and bus departments to locate the lost or left personal items within 48 hours. If found, the customer has to claim the found items from the Lost and Found Department in Rashidiya by presenting his or her Emirates ID and by providing the PIN or password of his/her smart phones, laptops, notebooks and tablets. lily@khaleejtimes.com For more news from Khaleej Times, follow us on Facebook at facebook.com/khaleejtimes , and on Twitter at @khaleejtimes Continue reading
Insight Adds To Farmland Flock
Insight adds to farmland flock Sarah Krouse 24 Oct 2013 Insight Investment has added a new farmland investment role to its team of experts in the sector, amid increased investor interest in farm assets. Insight adds to farmland flockThe asset manager has hired the former chief executive of farm investor NZ Farming Systems Uruguay to the newly created role of head of farmland management to help oversee its growing portfolio. David Beca will join later this year and be based out of London. Beca joins an eight-member team that works on farmland investments at Insight and will be responsible for overseeing the on-the-ground management of its farmland assets. The expansion of the investment team comes amid strong returns from rural land in the UK and globally. Beca has worked in a number of markets including Australia, Uruguay and South Africa for farmland investment, consulting and business analysis companies. Insight began its farmland strategy in 2011. The firm’s portfolio of investments includes a New Zealand dairy farm, a cattle station in northern Australia and arable farm assets in Romania. Other members of the team specialise in topics such as livestock and arable land and are based in a number of locations including Australia and Germany. Insight’s expansion of the team comes as it attempts to take advantage of increased investor interest in the asset class. The sector is touted as an attractive option for investors looking to diversify and boasts stronger returns than commercial property. Rural land in the UK, for example, has significantly outperformed commercial property in the country over the last five, 10 and 20 years, according to analytics firm Investment Property Databank. Rural land returned 8.9% compared with 0.7% for all property over five years; 13.2% compared with 6.3% property-wide over 10 years; and 13% compared with 8.9% for all property assets over 20 years. Beca will report to Martin Davies, head of farmland investments at Insight. Within the firm, the farmland investment team sits under specialist investments, a unit led by Reza Vishkai, who joined the firm in 2005. Beca said in a statement: “The development Continue reading
Boeing, SAA Launch Sustainable Aviation Biofuel Effort
By Boeing | October 14, 2013 Boeing and South African Airways have announced that they will work together to develop and implement a sustainable aviation biofuel supply chain in Southern Africa, a first for the continent. The companies signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) for sustainable aviation biofuel supply chain development at The Corporate Council on Africa’s 9th Biennial U.S.-Africa Business, attended by executives from leading U.S. and African firms and government representatives from several countries. This collaboration between Boeing and SAA is part of the companies’ broader efforts to support environmental sustainability for the airline’s operations and the commercial aviation industry overall, in addition to advancing South Africa’s social and economic development. “South African Airways is taking the lead in Africa on sustainable aviation fuels and, by setting a best practice example, can positively shape aviation biofuel efforts in the region,” said Ian Cruickshank, SAA head of group environmental affairs. “By working with Boeing’s sustainable aviation biofuel team, which has a history of successful partnerships to move lower-carbon biofuels closer to commercialization, we will apply the best global technology to meet the unique conditions of Southern Africa, diversify our energy sources and create new opportunities for the people of South Africa.” Boeing has collaborated extensively with airlines, research institutions, governments and other stakeholders to develop road maps for biofuel supply chains in several countries and regions, including the United States, China, Australia and Brazil. The aerospace company’s plan to work with SAA is the first such project in Africa. “Sustainable aviation biofuel will play a central role in reducing commercial aviation’s carbon emissions over the long term, and we see tremendous potential for these fuels in Africa,” said Julie Felgar, managing director of environmental strategy and integration, Boeing Commercial Airplanes. “Boeing and South African Airways are committed to investigating feedstocks and pathways that comply with strict sustainability guidelines and can have a positive impact on South Africa’s development.” Flight tests show that biofuel, which is derived from organic sources such as plants or algae, performs as well as or better than petroleum-based jet fuel. When produced in sustainable ways, biofuel contributes far less to global climate change than traditional fuels because carbon dioxide is pulled out of the atmosphere by a growing plant-based feedstock. Boeing and SAA believe that new developments in technology will enable the conversion of biomass into jet fuel in a more sustainable manner without competing with other sectors for food and water resources. The World Wildlife Fund-South Africa will monitor and ensure compliance to sustainability principles that would ensure that fuel is sustainable and would lead to genuine carbon reductions. Aviation biofuel refined to required standards has been approved for a blend of up to 50 percent with traditional jet fuel. Globally, more than 1,500 passenger flights using biofuel have been flown since the fuel was approved. Continue reading
