Dubai Ruler criticizes 3 managers for blocking public access
The Ruler of Dubai, on Wednesday, blamed three managers for barring people from entering their government departments — contrary to the emirate’s "open doors for the people" culture.
These three CEOs "have set up big offices for themselves" and "refused to let people contact them because... the government is intelligible.. and deals are online.. and websites are the ones that listen to people and solve their problems", said Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai.
Such officers even had "managers, secretaries and building security standing by their doors", the Dubai Ruler continued. Sheikh Mohammed was sharing data compiled by the government’s ‘mystery shopper’ programme. A company of anonymous consumers sent the Ruler a report of all government departments.
The Dubai Ruler also announced loud and clear: "We are here to serve people, make their life easier and be with them all the time. These are our principles in government, they have not shifted.
‘And to those who believe we have changed, we will change them’ He was firm in this reminder.
GDRFA chief earns praise
But in addition to all three executives’ missteps, the new mystery shopper report offered a model.
Mohammed Al Marri, director-general of the General Directorate for Residency and Foreigners Affairs, received honours for public service.
Sheikh Mohammed noted that Al Marri received visitors and was adamant to expedite matters of humanitarian and special importance.
Even the GDRFA chairman has never been out of the public eye, the Dubai Ruler added. His open office [is] for everyone.
All his "skills" in governance came from "school of Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid" says Al Marri. ‘I realized leadership is not a right, but a service to the country and to the society,’ he added in a separate statement.
"Dubai Residency is more than a service centre, but the door that speaks the language of the city that has no impossible," he continued.
Prioritising people
Dubai Government is there for the people — online and offline. It’s the kind of public service it has been building over the years. "We built a culture of door-opening for citizens in the 30 years of government evolution," Sheikh Mohammed wrote in X post.
"[It is] a culture of no doors on the front to the people," he said. "The Dubai reputation in the modern world has come to us simply because of our fast services and free-to-entertain work environment which values people".
Not the first time
In terms of public service, Sheikh Mohammed has governed with an iron fist. Over the years, he has called officials to account.
Five years ago, the Dubai Ruler publicly fined one Emirates Post office branch for bad service and posted a picture of long lines. In 2016, he had arrived late to municipal offices and discovered that some managers and senior staff didn’t come into office.
To a greater extent, the UAE Government regularly rates departments — top to bottom — on providing services. The director of one hospital was fired in 2023, after it was voted the worst service centre in the UK.
Government services can even be rated by UAE Mystery Shopper app users. This is a service, started in 2020, which allows citizens to rate their experience at government centres such as employee attitude, waiting time, payment problems and even parking.
"Great government service is the right of the people living in the UAE" — sheikh Mohammed had said that — and this will never be revoked.
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