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UAE’s goal is smart govt and happy people: Mohammed
UAE’s goal is smart govt and happy people: Mohammed Muaz Shabandri and Sadiq Shaban / 13 February 2014 mGovernment to incorporate 100 services as nation braces for hi-tech future, says Vice-President. Not content with eGovernment, the UAE on Wednesday launched the mGovernment strategy for seamless service as His Highness Shaikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, exuded hope and confidence in a smart future. Shaikh Mohammed addressing the concluding session of the Government Summit in Dubai on Wednesday. — KT photo by Shihab ‘Our main goal is to build hope, build life, build the future and make people happy,” Shaikh Mohammed told an audience of ministers, delegates and senior government employees on the concluding day of the Government Summit. Shaikh Mohammed said that one of the ministers from GCC countries asked him why he says making people happy and not satisfied. VP declares unflinching support to Egypt His Highness Shaikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, on Wednesday declared the UAE’s unflinching support to the Egyptian government. “The late President Shaikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan supported Egypt when it signed a peace treaty with Israel. This support continues to this day,” he told visiting foreign journalists. “The President, His Highness Shaikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, and I believe Egypt is the heart of the Arab nation and we would do all we can to ensure the country proceeds on the path to reform, maintains security and achieves economical development,” Shaikh Mohammed said. Shaikh Mohammed said the economic downturn did not ruffle him one bit when it hit in 2009. “All were wondering how the world financial recession did not affect me. I was confident of recovering from the meltdown especially Dubai,” he said. He called it a “great challenge” and said he thrived in the situation as he saw an opportunity for a stronger UAE after the recovery. “You judge matters from your own present view and analysis,” he told his audience, “but I judge it from my own experiences, expertise, and my vision of the future”. He said he faced the challenge with “persistence, determination and strong faith, and with our own abilities”. The Vice-President said the GCC was vibrant and making rapid strides in cooperation between the countries in various fields — political, economic and military. “We, in the United Arab Emirates, are striving with brotherly GCC states for stronger ties to fulfill the hopes and expectations of our people.” “I would love to assure you that the end will be happy, God willing.” news@khaleejtimes.com “I answered ‘Satisfaction represents a short period of time but happiness lasts more or is semi permanent, this is similar to victory, because the victory is temporary but excellence is eternal’.” “The UAE is proud to have the biggest and most active team in the world. The students of the UAE are the ones who build our country and the staff are its leaders.” Earlier, Mohammed Abdullah Al Gergawi, UAE Minister of Cabinet Affairs, announced the new mobile strategy at a Press conference with Hamad Obaid Al Mansouri, Director-General of mGovernment, and Hessa Buhumaid, Executive Director for Government Services Sector at the Prime Minister’s Office at the Ministry of Cabinet Affairs. “Governments must be in synergy with the demands and expectations of the people in developing its services comprehensively, meeting the pace of smart device developments globally,” Gergawi said. “The UAE’s goal is to ensure the happiness of the people by enhancing access to government services. Delivering mGovernment services seamlessly requires new tools, new thinking and a new level of creativity, which we are implementing.” The plan is to first establish an environment for mGovernment to flourish; provide access capability and capacity of government entities; establish shared resources across government entities at a national level; and ultimately, achieving citizen happiness. mGovernment services are expected 24 hours a day, seven days a week over two years. By May 2015, the government aims to have UAE citizens connecting with the key government services through smart phone devices for services such as payments and identification purposes. Out of the thousands of government services already available online, the UAE has identified the top 100 services based on customer demand, and will focus on refining them into mGovernment Services by May 2015. news@khaleejtimes.com For more news from Khaleej Times, follow us on Facebook at facebook.com/khaleejtimes , and on Twitter at @khaleejtimes Continue reading
Be ambassadors of nation, Mansour tells students
Be ambassadors of nation, Mansour tells students (Wam) / 13 February 2014 Private sector is strategic choice for jobs, Shaikh Mansour tells students at Government Summit. Shaikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Presidential Affairs, has affirmed that “the UAE supports all outstanding citizens and supports their academic and creative projects both within the country and abroad.” Shaikh Mansour made these remarks when he met 100 outstanding students on the sidelines of the 2nd Government Summit held in Dubai. The students were invited at the request of Shaikh Mansour out of his keen interest to urge citizens to a bright future and engage students in national programmes. The meeting was attended by Hamad bin Abdulrahman Al Madfaa, Secretary-General of the Supreme Council Affairs of the Federation at the Ministry of Presidential Affairs; Dr. Ali Rashid Abdullah Al Nuaimi, Vice-Chancellor of UAEU; Dr Tayeb Kamali, Vice-Chancellor of The Higher Colleges of Technology (HCT); Undersecretaries of Sectors in the Ministry of Presidential Affairs and a number of senior officials in the educational field. Shaikh Mansour spoke to students about the important issues of concern to young people, including the value of work in the UAE society, and the contribution of educated young citizens in building the nation, as well as the directives of the wise leadership and the government’s efforts to provide a decent life for citizens. Shaikh Mansour said the UAE headed by the President, His Highness Shaikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, invests in human development by adopting the best curricula and establishing partnerships with the most outstanding global universities in order to provide citizens with information and skills that will enable them to enter the job market with confidence and make them creative elements raising initiatives, ideas and thoughts. At the conclusion of the meeting, Shaikh Mansour said: “My dear brother students, I would like to emphasise that the private sector is a strategic choice for the recruitment of citizens, not only in the UAE, but in all countries of the world. The report of jobs issued by the International Bank indicates that the private sector is the main engine of job creation and employment opportunities in all countries of the world.” Shaikh Mansour asked the students to be ambassadors of their country, to cling to national identity in the workplace which is teeming with different cultures, abroad or in the country, wishing permanent excellence for all students. For their part, the students expressed their happiness to meet Shaikh Mansour, stressing that the meeting reflected the cohesion between the wise leadership and the sons of the nation. For more news from Khaleej Times, follow us on Facebook at facebook.com/khaleejtimes , and on Twitter at @khaleejtimes Continue reading
Set up own firms, don’t look only for govt jobs: DM chief
Set up own firms, don’t look only for govt jobs: DM chief Sajila Saseendran / 12 February 2014 Hussain Nasser Lootah says government cannot hire all Emiratis and they should start their own companies instead of becoming employees. The government cannot hire all Emiratis and they should start their own companies instead of becoming employees or civil servants, Dubai’s civic chief Hussain Nasser Lootah said at the Dubai Government Summit on Tuesday. Speaking at a session on “Optimising Government Service: The Potential of Public-Private Partnerships,” Lootah said unemployment of citizens was a dangerous indicator that they were heavily relying on government for jobs. “If we start considering citizens as our workforce, we will end up having all of them as employees or civil servants. It is not a healthy mindset. They should stop looking for jobs and instead build ideas for making their own companies and providing jobs to others.” Lootah’s remarks received applause from the audience, including heads of several government departments. He noted that the electronic revolution in each and every household itself has a huge dimension in building specialised projects. “Small and medium companies play an important role in delivering services. The government sector cannot be responsible for hiring all. Young Emiratis should explore such opportunities,” he said. Speaking to Khaleej Times after the session, he said government departments could no longer employ many Emirati graduates. “Media keep saying (government) find jobs for Emiratis and there is unemployment. I don’t agree with it. Most of the government departments have all of them. It is time to reverse the process. “We should study and prepare small projects and ask Emiratis to run them. Every year we have a lot of graduates. Some of them can be employees, but not all. They should be bosses. We need more and more young Emirati men and women to start SMEs.” At the session, he said how private-public partnership should focus on satisfying the customers by meeting their needs within a timeframe. He said the municipality already had partnership with private firms in projects like the upcoming Crocodile Park and the existing waste-to-energy plant that generates electricity from landfill waste. Fadi Ghandour, founder and vice-chairman of the Board of Directors, Aramex, said empowerment of entrepreneurs is a solution for unemployment of youth. He called for financial support from banks, with government’s guarantee, for unemployed youth to start SMEs. Lootah noted that there were a few government initiatives under Tanmia and Mohammed bin Rashid Establishment for SME Development that supported Emiratis to set up SMEs. sajila@khaleejtimes.com For more news from Khaleej Times, follow us on Facebook at facebook.com/khaleejtimes , and on Twitter at @khaleejtimes Continue reading
