DUBAI // Close to 20,000 "mystery shoppers" have gone undercover in government departments to rate the standard of service and report back to the prime minister and his deputies.
Of these service spies, about 15,000 report directly to the office of Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, and 2,000 report back to Sheikh Saif bin Zayed, Minister of Interior and Deputy Prime Minister.
"This is the sort of accountability and monitoring that has been set," Sheikh Saif told the Government Summit yesterday.
"My brothers, I would like to advise you with a piece of advice given to me by a brother. These mystery shoppers will be sending reports which may not be positive and when they do I hope you are able to reverse them."
Those sentiments where echoed earlier in the day by Sheikh Hamdan bin Mubarak, the Minister of Public Works, who said his departments aim to provide a five-star service.
"We wanted to provide excellent service so we started focusing on pleasing our customers and our employees, focusing also on the quality and pace of the services. That [made] the ministries want to provide an even better service."
Another method used by the Ministry of Interior to improve standards, Sheikh Saif said, was a two-year programme for which the 20 best police college graduates are selected each year.
The cadets work during the day as officers and train at night in management skills and a new language.
After the two-year training period, the officers are sent to the best universities in the world to complete a master's degree. The following year, the officers go back into the field before being selected to complete a doctorate.
Since 2003, he said, the number of police officers with bachelor's degrees had increased by 45 per cent, there were 12 per cent more master's degree holders and 27 per cent more doctorates.
"By supporting the national element, preparing them and enabling them we are able to create leaders," he said.
More than 200 nationalities reside in the UAE, Sheikh Saif said, and with the increasing population growth rate, rising expectations and different patterns of crimes, his ministry was hard at work to evolve.
"Our sector is working around the clock to provide security services that do not accept any room for error. The Ministry of Interior provides more than 25 per cent of the total government services," he said.
When time came to evaluate their performance, he said, they would only ever compare themselves to the best global levels.
"For the serious crime rate per every 100,000 we have had a significant reduction since 2011," he said.
In 2011 there were 6,119 crimes per 100,000 while in past year 5,119 crimes per 100,000 were recorded. He also noted the general feeling of security among residents had risen from 86.10 per cent in 2009 to 91.6 per cent in 2011.
The UAE is secure not because of its security forces, Sheikh Saif said, but because of the 1,150,000 Emiratis who are all working together to secure the country.
"The two things that worry me the most are lazy employees who cause accidental deaths - especially those of children," he said. "A lazy employee should not be allowed to be in the position that he is in and we should all feel responsible for what he or she is doing wrong.
"Children's accidental deaths resulting from carelessness or road deaths are my main worry and we should raise the awareness of families and people to reduce them," Sheikh Saif said.
"I want to reiterate what brother Dahi Khalfan said. We want to reduce these deaths to zero."
amustafa@thenational.ae
Skewed figures
In the village of Mevagissey in southwest England the housing stock has doubled in the last century while the number of residents is half the historic high. The village's Neighbourhood Development Plan states that 26% of homes are holiday retreats. Prices are high, averaging around £300,000, £50,000 more than the Cornish average of £250,000. The local average wage is £15,458.
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
MORE ON TURKEY'S SYRIA OFFENCE
The specs
AT4 Ultimate, as tested
Engine: 6.2-litre V8
Power: 420hp
Torque: 623Nm
Transmission: 10-speed automatic
Price: From Dh330,800 (Elevation: Dh236,400; AT4: Dh286,800; Denali: Dh345,800)
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Price, base / as tested From Dh173,775 (base model)
Engine 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo, AWD
Power 249hp at 5,500rpm
Torque 365Nm at 1,300-4,500rpm
Gearbox Nine-speed auto
Fuel economy, combined 7.9L/100km
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Mountain%20Boy
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The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
Milestones on the road to union
1970
October 26: Bahrain withdraws from a proposal to create a federation of nine with the seven Trucial States and Qatar.
December: Ahmed Al Suwaidi visits New York to discuss potential UN membership.
1971
March 1: Alex Douglas Hume, Conservative foreign secretary confirms that Britain will leave the Gulf and “strongly supports” the creation of a Union of Arab Emirates.
July 12: Historic meeting at which Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid make a binding agreement to create what will become the UAE.
July 18: It is announced that the UAE will be formed from six emirates, with a proposed constitution signed. RAK is not yet part of the agreement.
August 6: The fifth anniversary of Sheikh Zayed becoming Ruler of Abu Dhabi, with official celebrations deferred until later in the year.
August 15: Bahrain becomes independent.
September 3: Qatar becomes independent.
November 23-25: Meeting with Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid and senior British officials to fix December 2 as date of creation of the UAE.
November 29: At 5.30pm Iranian forces seize the Greater and Lesser Tunbs by force.
November 30: Despite a power sharing agreement, Tehran takes full control of Abu Musa.
November 31: UK officials visit all six participating Emirates to formally end the Trucial States treaties
December 2: 11am, Dubai. New Supreme Council formally elects Sheikh Zayed as President. Treaty of Friendship signed with the UK. 11.30am. Flag raising ceremony at Union House and Al Manhal Palace in Abu Dhabi witnessed by Sheikh Khalifa, then Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi.
December 6: Arab League formally admits the UAE. The first British Ambassador presents his credentials to Sheikh Zayed.
December 9: UAE joins the United Nations.
Specs
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Range: 400km
Power: 134bhp
Torque: 175Nm
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