DUBAI // Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, on Monday announced the largest structural shake-up in the federal Government since the country was founded.
In an unprecedented three-hour social-media event during the World Government Summit, Sheikh Mohammed said ministries would be consolidated and new entities established in health and education.
He also signalled a plan to outsource “most government services” to the private sector.
› See all the announced changes here: Changes to federal government, as announced by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid
“Governments must be flexible. We don’t need more ministries, but more ministers capable of dealing with change,” said Sheikh Mohammed.
“We want a young and flexible government that will fulfil our youth’s aspirations and achieve our people’s ambitions.”
Posts have been created, meaning the Government now has fewer ministries but more ministers handling strategic national issues.
New positions include a Minister of State for Happiness, who will have the responsibility to “align and drive government policy to create social good and satisfaction”, and a Minister of State for Tolerance, who will “instil tolerance as a fundamental value in UAE society”.
“We want a government that works on building the skills of its people, aside from providing services ... a government focused on putting the happiness of citizens at the forefront of its priorities,” Sheikh Mohammed said.
“We need a government whose essence is human and family, education and aspirations to build their future.
“We need a government with its purpose to build a virtuous society, a forgiving environment, close families, educated generations and equal economic opportunities for all.”
Further to an earlier announcement about a young person on the Cabinet, Sheikh Mohammed announced a UAE Youth National Council would be set up, comprising young men and women who will serve as advisers to the Government on youth issues.
It will be led by a female Minister of State for Youth who will be no older than 22.
The Ministry of Cabinet Affairs has been specifically given the task of devising plans “preparing the country for a post-oil future”, and will be called the Ministry of Cabinet Affairs and the Future.
For education, an independent foundation will be set up to manage public schools, run by a board of directors that will report to the Government about the national education agenda.
“Public schools will enjoy a great level of power and independence,” said Sheikh Mohammed.
The ministries of Higher Education and Education will be combined under one minister, with two supporting ministers of state.
The ministry will be responsible for monitoring all stages of education, from nurseries to universities.
A greater focus on disease prevention is reflected in a renaming and restructuring of the Ministry of Health, while an independent entity will be created to oversee and manage public hospitals.
In foreign affairs, the Ministry of International Cooperation and Development will merge with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which will now deal with UAE foreign aid.
Two ministers of state will be given the responsibility of overseeing foreign aid and improving international relations.
The Ministry of Labour will be renamed the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation, and will now incorporate Tanmia, the national human resources and employment authority.
The Ministry of Social Affairs will become the Ministry of Community Development, focusing on Emirati families and community issues, and be integrated with the Marriage Fund.
The Government will also have a Ministry of Climate Change and Environment, whose purpose will be to develop and monitor programmes and legislation to preserve a clean environment for the next generation of Emiratis.
Meanwhile, the National Council of Tourism and Antiquities will now be connected with the Ministry of Economy, which will set national targets to boost the gross national product.
A UAE Council of Scientists to review national policies related to science, technology and innovation will be created, while the newly named Ministry of Culture and Knowledge will focus on areas such as protecting the Arabic language and increasing knowledge in general.
The changes come ahead of anticipated challenges, Sheikh Mohammed said.
Sheikh Mohammed said the past decade had been one of establishing strategies and systems, and “the next decade will be a confident leap into the future with all its challenges, competitiveness and variables”.
newsdesk@thenational.ae
Three tips from La Perle's performers
1 The kind of water athletes drink is important. Gwilym Hooson, a 28-year-old British performer who is currently recovering from knee surgery, found that out when the company was still in Studio City, training for 12 hours a day. “The physio team was like: ‘Why is everyone getting cramps?’ And then they realised we had to add salt and sugar to the water,” he says.
2 A little chocolate is a good thing. “It’s emergency energy,” says Craig Paul Smith, La Perle’s head coach and former Cirque du Soleil performer, gesturing to an almost-empty open box of mini chocolate bars on his desk backstage.
3 Take chances, says Young, who has worked all over the world, including most recently at Dragone’s show in China. “Every time we go out of our comfort zone, we learn a lot about ourselves,” she says.
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Expert input
If you had all the money in the world, what’s the one sneaker you would buy or create?
“There are a few shoes that have ‘grail’ status for me. But the one I have always wanted is the Nike x Patta x Parra Air Max 1 - Cherrywood. To get a pair in my size brand new is would cost me between Dh8,000 and Dh 10,000.” Jack Brett
“If I had all the money, I would approach Nike and ask them to do my own Air Force 1, that’s one of my dreams.” Yaseen Benchouche
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Founders: Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi
Total funding: Self funded
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- I would recommend writing out the text in the body
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Drivers’ championship standings after Singapore:
1. Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes - 263
2. Sebastian Vettel, Ferrari - 235
3. Valtteri Bottas, Mercedes - 212
4. Daniel Ricciardo, Red Bull - 162
5. Kimi Raikkonen, Ferrari - 138
6. Sergio Perez, Force India - 68
COMPANY PROFILE
Initial investment: Undisclosed
Investment stage: Series A
Investors: Core42
Current number of staff: 47
Email sent to Uber team from chief executive Dara Khosrowshahi
From: Dara
To: Team@
Date: March 25, 2019 at 11:45pm PT
Subj: Accelerating in the Middle East
Five years ago, Uber launched in the Middle East. It was the start of an incredible journey, with millions of riders and drivers finding new ways to move and work in a dynamic region that’s become so important to Uber. Now Pakistan is one of our fastest-growing markets in the world, women are driving with Uber across Saudi Arabia, and we chose Cairo to launch our first Uber Bus product late last year.
Today we are taking the next step in this journey—well, it’s more like a leap, and a big one: in a few minutes, we’ll announce that we’ve agreed to acquire Careem. Importantly, we intend to operate Careem independently, under the leadership of co-founder and current CEO Mudassir Sheikha. I’ve gotten to know both co-founders, Mudassir and Magnus Olsson, and what they have built is truly extraordinary. They are first-class entrepreneurs who share our platform vision and, like us, have launched a wide range of products—from digital payments to food delivery—to serve consumers.
I expect many of you will ask how we arrived at this structure, meaning allowing Careem to maintain an independent brand and operate separately. After careful consideration, we decided that this framework has the advantage of letting us build new products and try new ideas across not one, but two, strong brands, with strong operators within each. Over time, by integrating parts of our networks, we can operate more efficiently, achieve even lower wait times, expand new products like high-capacity vehicles and payments, and quicken the already remarkable pace of innovation in the region.
This acquisition is subject to regulatory approval in various countries, which we don’t expect before Q1 2020. Until then, nothing changes. And since both companies will continue to largely operate separately after the acquisition, very little will change in either teams’ day-to-day operations post-close. Today’s news is a testament to the incredible business our team has worked so hard to build.
It’s a great day for the Middle East, for the region’s thriving tech sector, for Careem, and for Uber.
Uber on,
Dara
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The specs: 2019 Mini Cooper
Price, base: Dh141,740 (three-door) / Dh165,900 (five-door)
Engine: 1.5-litre four-cylinder (Cooper) / 2.0-litre four-cylinder (Cooper S)
Power: 136hp @ 4,500rpm (Cooper) / 192hp @ 5,000rpm (Cooper S)
Torque: 220Nm @ 1,480rpm (Cooper) / 280Nm @ 1,350rpm (Cooper S)
Transmission: Seven-speed automatic
Fuel consumption, combined: 4.8L to 5.4L / 100km
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Will the pound fall to parity with the dollar?
The idea of pound parity now seems less far-fetched as the risk grows that Britain may split away from the European Union without a deal.
Rupert Harrison, a fund manager at BlackRock, sees the risk of it falling to trade level with the dollar on a no-deal Brexit. The view echoes Morgan Stanley’s recent forecast that the currency can plunge toward $1 (Dh3.67) on such an outcome. That isn’t the majority view yet – a Bloomberg survey this month estimated the pound will slide to $1.10 should the UK exit the bloc without an agreement.
New Prime Minister Boris Johnson has repeatedly said that Britain will leave the EU on the October 31 deadline with or without an agreement, fuelling concern the nation is headed for a disorderly departure and fanning pessimism toward the pound. Sterling has fallen more than 7 per cent in the past three months, the worst performance among major developed-market currencies.
“The pound is at a much lower level now but I still think a no-deal exit would lead to significant volatility and we could be testing parity on a really bad outcome,” said Mr Harrison, who manages more than $10 billion in assets at BlackRock. “We will see this game of chicken continue through August and that’s likely negative for sterling,” he said about the deadlocked Brexit talks.
The pound fell 0.8 per cent to $1.2033 on Friday, its weakest closing level since the 1980s, after a report on the second quarter showed the UK economy shrank for the first time in six years. The data means it is likely the Bank of England will cut interest rates, according to Mizuho Bank.
The BOE said in November that the currency could fall even below $1 in an analysis on possible worst-case Brexit scenarios. Options-based calculations showed around a 6.4 per cent chance of pound-dollar parity in the next one year, markedly higher than 0.2 per cent in early March when prospects of a no-deal outcome were seemingly off the table.
Bloomberg
Zimbabwe v UAE, ODI series
All matches at the Harare Sports Club:
1st ODI, Wednesday, April 10
2nd ODI, Friday, April 12
3rd ODI, Sunday, April 14
4th ODI, Tuesday, April 16
UAE squad: Mohammed Naveed (captain), Rohan Mustafa, Ashfaq Ahmed, Shaiman Anwar, Mohammed Usman, CP Rizwan, Chirag Suri, Mohammed Boota, Ghulam Shabber, Sultan Ahmed, Imran Haider, Amir Hayat, Zahoor Khan, Qadeer Ahmed
