ABU DHABI // Better childcare, sport and entertainment facilities, improved quality of schools and more job opportunities are among the improvements Abu Dhabi residents would like to see.
With the dedication yesterday of the Abu Dhabi Plan, which sets out goals to ensure a safe and secure society and to build a diversified economy, residents spoke about what improvements they would like to see in the emirate’s future.
An exhibition detailing the plan which opened to the public at Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre on Wednesday.
Sultan Al Obeidli, an Abu Dhabi resident working with Adnoc, said: “I think first of all we need to concentrate on infrastructure in terms of roads, bridges and electrical and water systems.
“There are some improvements to be made there. Then, of course, we need more entertainment facilities.”
Mr Al Obeidli pointed to The Beach – a beachfront outdoor shopping and entertainment complex located on Jumeirah Beach Residence in Dubai – as a good example of what Abu Dhabi needed.
“We need something like this at Al Raha beach for example, which lacks such facilities,” said the Emirati. “We need to move out of [Abu Dhabi] Island, where everything is concentrated.
“We need to spread out. At the moment we are concentrating on building vertical rather than horizontal.”
Emirati Khawla Saleh said that while the UAE has come a long way in a short time, there are still measures that could be implemented.
“The first thing I would like to see is more robust child safety laws,” said the child health and safety adviser in Abu Dhabi. “I commend the UAE for what is happening already, but what is needed is a child safety law mandating children under the age of 10 to wear car seat restraints.
“I would also like to see more regulation of caregivers that look after our children to ensure we are empowering mothers and fathers with the knowledge that they are leaving their children in safe hands.”
She would like to see more empowerment for working mothers as well.
“The UAE is kind and generous assisting mothers in the workplace, especially in [comparison] with more developed nations,” said Ms Saleh.
“However, there is room for more. I am hopeful these improvements will happen – we are a young country and these developments will come.”
Dorcas Alieno, a 29-year-old Kenyan, would like to see more job opportunities for all nationalities.
“I [would] like to see more schools and services, too,” said the Abu Dhabi resident, a customer service relations executive for Toyota.
Maria Ana, a Filipina, works as a housemaid in Abu Dhabi and has been living in the emirate for a year and a half. She would like to see more job opportunities and better pay.
“I am also not convinced all the schools are good quality,” she said. “In general in Abu Dhabi, the facilities are OK and the community is good, but I would like to see better salaries.”
Abu Dhabi student Ashrique Irfan wanted to see more sports facilities in the emirate and in schools. The 17-year-old Indian, who attends school in Mussaffah, said he enjoyed athletics and would like to see the same opportunities for expatriates as well as UAE nationals.
“In Abu Dhabi right now there is not much sports-related activity,” he said. “Most of what is available is only for the citizens and the UAE nationals only – not for the expats.”
Mary Flou, a Filipina living in Abu Dhabi, agreed, saying most aspects about life in the emirate were positive. However, the 44-year-old, who works for a cleaning company, would like better health insurance cover.
Some policies had been downgraded and her insurance covers Dh1,500 of her healthcare expenses per year, she said.
“But because of my maintenance for my high blood pressure and my diabetes, I need more,” she said.
Aline Nata from Lebanon, who lives in Abu Dhabi with her family, believed there could be more investment in sprucing up community areas.
“In some places, the municipality doesn’t work as it should work,” she said. “Some areas – such as the Tourist Club area – there has been no improvement. It needs to be cleaner.
“Otherwise, I can’t complain.”
Arwa, a Jordanian, said she believed that with the money already invested in Abu Dhabi, nothing further was needed: “To me, Abu Dhabi is complete.”
Manu Jose, an Indian, agreed.
“It is good here,” said the civil engineer, living in Abu Dhabi. “I don’t think anything else is needed.”
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Read more:
› Abu Dhabi to unveil five-year blueprint that shapes emirate's future
› Abu Dhabi Plan seeks to keep emirate on track for oil-free future
› Abu Dhabi Plan: A timeline
› National Editorial: Plan still carries Sheikh Zayed's vision
› Abu Dhabi's achievements in 2015 - graphic
jbell@thenational.ae
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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
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In the UAE’s arid climate, small shrubs, bushes and flower beds usually require about six litres of water per square metre, daily. That increases to 12 litres per square metre a day for small trees, and 300 litres for palm trees.
Horticulturists suggest the best time for watering is before 8am or after 6pm, when water won't be dried up by the sun.
A global report published by the Water Resources Institute in August, ranked the UAE 10th out of 164 nations where water supplies are most stretched.
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