ABU DHABI // Federal National Council members expressed disappointment with the council’s slow pace as they approached mid-term.
After four months of sessions, closed meetings and field visits, council members admitted schedule irregularity had led to a pileup in their work. They have called for sessions to intensify until the end of term.
There is less than four months left before the parliamentary break.
“The council’s work has been below expectations this term, we had expected to have done more,” said Ali Al Nuaimi (Ajman). “Unfortunately, due to some circumstances we were not able to achieve more.”
He and other members blamed the hiccups on poor session planning and a lack of cooperation by ministers.
“But what the FNC has achieved so far is not bad,” he added.
Since the council convened in November, it has tackled Emirati unemployment, passing a number of proposals to the Government to treat the situation, and called for a law on Emiratisation.
Members have also continued to demand better pensions, greater criminal checks on maids coming into the country, a solution to the ever-increasing hiring fees for maids, and passed an anti-fraud law.
In education, the council demanded more money be spent on scientific research and a lesser work load for professors to give them time to conduct research. It has discussed Cabinet decisions to abolish foundation year at universities, and dissolving the two-track arts and scientific system burdening public schools.
As a result of debates, members were able to secure a number of guarantees from ministers to resolve their concerns, including a new plan from the Ministry of Labour to draw up Emiratisation policies, the possibility of a future tie between pensions and inflation, and four years until foundation years at universities are obsolete.
But the biggest achievement for the council this term, said Ahmed Al Shamsi (Ajman), was passing the country’s first Child Rights law and adding sweeping rights for children in the country.
“The Child Rights law was a good achievement,” he said. “But we cannot neglect other work we’ve done. We have discussed a lot of laws and topics, but a lot are yet to be discussed. We achieved a lot but not what was expected.”
Hamad Al Rahoomi (Dubai) said it was crucial that for the next four months sessions are held regularly.
“We lost a month this year and a month last year, this is time we should not lose,” he said.
He said to make up for time lost in February, when the council went four weeks without meeting once in the capital, it was necessary to hold more and sessions more frequently than every fortnight.
“That is partially the reason why we will meet again this Tuesday, despite us just having had a session last week,” he said. “We have very important laws and topics to get through before the end of the term.”
Some of these include looking at the status of teachers in the country, debating policies of the UAE Central Bank, going through the new military service bill and a compulsory education bill.
And for the first time since its formation, the Human Right’s Committee will kick into high gear and study a plausible law on women’s rights.
The council this year has also looked into several women’s issues, including the situation of women abandoned by their husbands and early retirement.
“We definitely need to compensate for lost time,” Mr Al Nuaimi said.
Members were pessimistic, saying that even increased sessions would not help them to complete all their work.
“We will not finish in four months,” Mr Al Nuaimi said. “Work will [spill] into the next year.”
osalem@thenational.ae
From Europe to the Middle East, economic success brings wealth - and lifestyle diseases
A rise in obesity figures and the need for more public spending is a familiar trend in the developing world as western lifestyles are adopted.
One in five deaths around the world is now caused by bad diet, with obesity the fastest growing global risk. A high body mass index is also the top cause of metabolic diseases relating to death and disability in Kuwait, Qatar and Oman – and second on the list in Bahrain.
In Britain, heart disease, lung cancer and Alzheimer’s remain among the leading causes of death, and people there are spending more time suffering from health problems.
The UK is expected to spend $421.4 billion on healthcare by 2040, up from $239.3 billion in 2014.
And development assistance for health is talking about the financial aid given to governments to support social, environmental development of developing countries.
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Price, base: Dh69,900
Engine: 2.0-litre turbocharged four-cylinder
Transmission: Seven-speed automatic
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T20 squad: Eoin Morgan (capt), Jonny Bairstow, Tom Banton, Sam Billings, Pat Brown, Sam Curran, Tom Curran, Joe Denly, Lewis Gregory, Chris Jordan, Saqib Mahmood, Dawid Malan, Matt Parkinson, Adil Rashid, James Vince
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Our legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants
Normal People
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Playing records of the top 10 in 2017
How many games the top 10 have undertaken in the 2017 ATP season
1. Rafael Nadal 58 (49-9)
2. Andy Murray 35 (25-10)
3. Roger Federer 38 (35-3)
4. Stan Wawrinka 37 (26-11)
5. Novak Djokovic 40 (32-8)
6. Alexander Zverev 60 (46-14)
7. Marin Cilic 43 (29-14)
8. Dominic Thiem 60 (41-19)
9. Grigor Dimitrov 48 (34-14)
10. Kei Nishikori 43 (30-13)
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Sectors: Internet, e-commerce
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Tree of Hell
Starring: Raed Zeno, Hadi Awada, Dr Mohammad Abdalla
Director: Raed Zeno
Rating: 4/5
The five pillars of Islam
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THREE
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Some of Darwish's last words
"They see their tomorrows slipping out of their reach. And though it seems to them that everything outside this reality is heaven, yet they do not want to go to that heaven. They stay, because they are afflicted with hope." - Mahmoud Darwish, to attendees of the Palestine Festival of Literature, 2008
His life in brief: Born in a village near Galilee, he lived in exile for most of his life and started writing poetry after high school. He was arrested several times by Israel for what were deemed to be inciteful poems. Most of his work focused on the love and yearning for his homeland, and he was regarded the Palestinian poet of resistance. Over the course of his life, he published more than 30 poetry collections and books of prose, with his work translated into more than 20 languages. Many of his poems were set to music by Arab composers, most significantly Marcel Khalife. Darwish died on August 9, 2008 after undergoing heart surgery in the United States. He was later buried in Ramallah where a shrine was erected in his honour.
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The specs
Engine: 1.5-litre turbo
Power: 181hp
Torque: 230Nm
Transmission: 6-speed automatic
Starting price: Dh79,000
On sale: Now
BlacKkKlansman
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Starring: John David Washington; Adam Driver
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