VP’s directives contain valuable ideas

President His Highness Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan once aptly described the establishment of the United Arab Emirates in 1971 as a “dream” that became a “bright reality” for the citizens, the nation, the region and the world at large.

Peace and prosperity are people’s ultimate dream and the UAE spares no effort in making such an aspiration an absolute reality.

His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, on Saturday published on his Twitter page six important messages titled “The Letter of the New Season”, which contained some tips, addressing officials, ministers and leaders.

The swiftness with which the Cabinet formed a committee to implement the directives of Sheikh Mohammed reflects how the country works tirelessly to remain a model state, where the primary goal is to ensure the happiness of the people.

The UAE never considers complacency a delightful word and instead vociferously acknowledges that actions should always speak louder than words.

The country is blessed to have a government that engages citizens and officials in the decision-making and policy-making processes.

It has world-class infrastructure, high-quality health, education and housing services, and highly-efficient justice, security and defence institutions.

Once a task is set, prompt action follows. The committee set up by the Cabinet will draft legal and procedural frameworks to implement Sheikh Mohammed’s directives.

It will also submit a 100-day plan to Sheikh Mohammed for improving the performance of government and private institutions in the UAE, to reinforce the country’s economic and community performance, and ensure that its citizens are happy.

Sheikh Mohammed’s directives contain constructive goals and valuable ideas.

His word of caution on the social media makes perfect sense. Stirring up chaos on social media wastes achievements for which thousands of teams worked so hard to realise. The reputation of the UAE is certainly not a platform for those who want to gain followers. A group of Twitter users should not be allowed to mess with Sheikh Zayed’s legacy of credibility, love and respect for people.

In implementation of Sheikh Mohammed’s message, the UAE Cabinet has rightly directed the National Media Council, NMC, to control social media sites and establish strict standards to defend the UAE and enhance its stature regionally and internationally.

It has also directed the Government Communication Office of General Secretariat of the Cabinet to monitor live news and social media feeds, and ensure that all federal authorities respond to enquiries and grievances of citizens.

His Highness has reinforced the policy of Emiratisation. The Cabinet’s decision to organise another meeting to discuss Emiratisation will help address the subject.

Health is wealth and it is good that a range of federal decisions and laws related to the health sector to support public health and provide world-class healthcare services has been approved.

These decisions will help create a comprehensive nation-wide approach to health, promote cooperation among relevant federal and local authorities.

The adoption by the cabinet of a policy related to nutritional value labels on products comes as sweet news as the aim is to promote public health and encourage people to choose healthy foods.

As per this policy, information on sugar, salt and fat contents, as well as calories, must be included on food labels.

Constant monitoring by the leadership and decisive resolutions have helped the UAE attain a status where it is considered the best place in the world to live or work.