Author: Zara

It is natural that millions of mobile phone subscribers face tremendous pressure in sale centers in malls and business centers of Emirates Telecommunications Corporation (Etisalat) and Emirates Integrated Telecommunications Company (du) after everyone suddenly started registering their phone numbers after three months of indifference to “My Number, My Identity” campaign. The campaign was launched by the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA) and began to register numbers on 17 July 2012. The deadline was supposed to be tomorrow but Etisalat did not cut service from those who missed the deadline until further notice.

Those who missed the deadline of updating their personal information and biometric data in the database of telecommunication service providers in the UAE and ensuring that the SIM card they are using is registered in their name, a procedure that should take no more than few minutes and does not require the ID card were occupied with spreading rumors and running counter campaigns to scare people off.

They scared people by claiming that their calls and secrets will fall in the hands of the security authorities and that they will lose their freedom among other ungrounded claims. They forgot that the campaign mainly focuses on protecting the privacy of people after studies showed that some people exploit numbers that are not in their names and their owners end up being involved in civil and criminal cases.

We hoped that the campaign leads to more awareness for people and not negligence and indifference towards an important issue that mainly affects them. It is noted however that nationals and expatriates alike do not pay much heed to and do not comply with official decisions that are issued out of public interest and welfare. Emirates ID is a case to note. Many people do not start thinking about such decisions except when late fees are imposed.

Although registering mobile numbers is for free and is done quickly and easily in addition to the easy procedure of transferring the ownership of the SIM card from the actual owner of the number to its user, people still respond to decisions only if late fees and charges are imposed. Emirates ID had to go through a tedious scenario of extending deadlines and giving one chance after another so that people can finally register last minute and cause pressure, confusion and delay. 

We hope that in such cases, there will be no exceptions and deadline extensions, but rather a strict application of any official decision within the set deadline.

 

Emirates ID employees congratulated Dr. Eng. Ali Mohamed Al Khouri, Emirates ID Director General, for the accomplishment made by the authority under his distinguished direction. They commend his dedication for the success of its 2010-2013 Strategic Plan which resulted in registering the majority of the UAE population in the ID card over the last two years.

In this framework, Dr. Al Khouri thanked Emirates ID employees for their sincere congratulations.

Below is the speech of His Excellence the Director General addressed to Emirates ID employees:

In the name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful

Praise be to Allah and blessing and peace be upon our prophet Mohammed, his family and his companions.

Brothers and sisters, Emirates ID employees

Greetings,

I thank Allah first and I thank Him again for bestowing us with the governance of Zayed’s sons

Leadership shall always remain the supporter and motivator for our distinction at Emirates ID

Leadership exerting efforts persistently to serve the UAE people

Leadership working silently without waiting for a word of thanks

Leadership that we will never be able to thank adequately however our work and sacrifices

Leadership that only expects from us to cooperate and participate in building the UAE

We ask Allah to bless our leaders, our role models

I thank you all. If it weren’t for your work and efforts over the past years, Emirates ID wouldn’t have made these accomplishments and achieved its goals

Brothers and sisters, I am urging you to insist on distinction and remember that actions speak louder than words

The responsibility upon all of us is huge. We must understand that we are not merely an institution that prints ID cards but we have to realize that we work in an institution that lays the foundations of security and economy in the UAE. We are working together to build a more secure society and support a stronger economy that speaks the language of the future. We endeavor to be a complimentary part in achieving the hopes of our leaders in making the UAE one of the best countries in the world

Brothers and sisters,

I have high confidence in you to be distinguished in serving our customers and to treat our customers like guests in our own house regardless of their age, shape and nationalities and to work hard to support each other regardless of our occupational positions or geographical locations

We should try and retry and create and innovate methods one after another to draw smiles on the faces of our customers

To be brief, I would like to thank you all again. These are the results you achieved and this is your Emirates ID. I am confident that no one can do the job better than you

May Allah bless you all

The decree in a federal law issued recently by His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, UAE President to establish the National E-Security Authority reflects the focus of the UAE on developing e-security. The authority aims to regulate the protection of the communications networks and information system in the UAE and to raise the efficiency of means of keeping and exchanging information at all entities either through information systems or any other electronic means.

Establishing the National E-Security Authority reflects the thorough awareness of the UAE of the importance of achieving and upgrading e-security. The list of duties that this authority will carry out will no doubt constitute a quality transition in this field by setting standards to provide e-security in the UAE and supervising their implementation or formulating a national plan to face any risks, threats or attacks on online security in coordination with certain entities. The authority will also ensure the effective operation of the communications networks protection systems and information systems at public and private entities operating in the UAE. Moreover, the authority will monitor the compliance of certain entities with implementing the e-security requirements issued by the authority and follow up on their application.

The existence of a national authority specialized in e-security of all aspects       is very important not only to ensure coordination of efforts among the concern entities to maintain the infrastructure and digital and information structure of the UAE but also to effectively address the phenomenon of online crimes that have recently become prevalent by computer pirates defrauding banks and stealing pin codes of clients’ accounts. The authority will also address the growing online sabotage and spying on institutions and banks by hackers. These crimes represent a grave challenge throughout the entire world and need to be countered effectively. The new authority will focus on combating computer, Internet and IT crimes of all types.

In addition, the establishment of this authority comes in accord with the tendency of the UAE to rely on e-transactions in the various ministries and institutions to keep pace with advancements worldwide which focus on how to make use of modern technology and improve digital culture which has become closely related to the knowledge society. This is one of the top tasks of the National E-Security Authority.

The UAE has achieved a great leap in the development of e-security systems thanks to the integrated strategy adopted in this regard relying on the latest technologies of e-applications and using the latest mechanisms and solutions of network security in its integrated bases. The UAE also seeks to improve the ability of society members to use e-services through the E-Citizen Program aiming to eliminate information illiteracy for all members of society.

The establishment of the National E-Security Authority will reinforce the efforts of the UAE and its position in the field of e-security protection. It is noteworthy that the UAE ranked first regionally and fourth internationally in the field of e-security according to the 2012 IMD World Competitiveness Yearbook (WCY) issued last July. The UAE bounced back than developed countries which reflects the effectiveness of the UAE’s efforts in the e-security field.

When His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, UAE President, May Allah Protect Him, said: “Whoever doesn’t have an identity does not exist in the present and does not have a place in the future,” his words were shaping what is clearly known as the philosophy of national identity. Later, it became the cornerstone for people’s, corporate and government action in order to enhance this concept and integrate it in the society, among young people in particular and all citizens in general even residents living in the UAE.

As the words of His Highness indicate, this identity is not only relative belonging but rather realistic and inevitable existence that organizes the movement of the present and plans for the future leaving a historical fingerprint that lasts after time lapses and place changes.

In this regard, we can delve into the concept of identity as seen by the UAE and decided by the strategy of its leadership. We need to exceed the initial definition of identity which does not cross the limits of belonging within the geographical or historical boundaries. It exceeds all that to make it a belonging to the future shaping the citizen belonging to this system into a cultural model following established prospects in which the identity holder resides.

This system of prospects sets the degree of maturity, loyalty and giving through intertwined standards flowing foremost from an overwhelming feeling of the citizen of his love and loyalty for his nation, not giving it up if for the entire world. The citizen considers his nation an inseparable part of him and cannot compromise his loyalty or belonging to it.

The basics of this commitment to the essence of national identity all pour into compliance with established values and virtues without which the citizen would fall into cultural intertwining that broke boundaries between human beings and bridged gaps turning the world into a small village where interests conflict and materialism has the upper hand at the expense of values.

It has to be stressed that this identity cannot be self-sustainable but must be always nourished by seeking knowledge, which is a main pillar of our culture and civilization. It is even the only weapon to penetrate the future as stated in the speech of His Highness, UAE President.

When national identity becomes an integrated feeling in people’s conscience, it automatically becomes the key to work towards serving the nation and enhancing cooperation, voluntarism and community work away from the trap of selfishness and self-centered thinking which pays no heed to social collaboration and support in building the renaissance and does not see their importance in advancing it. Boasting national identity awakens human conscience making it feel unique and important.

In this regard, endeavors seeking and calling for the national identity rose as the highest shared responsibilities that we must cooperate to establish. It is the responsibility of everyone either individuals or corporations. It also calls upon all of us to exert more efforts to maintain it as a national heritage to future generations.

Based on the above, the Ministry of Education approved the teaching of concept of identity in school curricula and educational activities in the current academic year. In this context, the importance enjoyed by the concept of identity is reinforced as it should contribute in raising the level of awareness of the importance of the population register and ID card project as one of the most remarkable strategic projects of the UAE adopted by its wise leaders. There is no doubt that it directly pours into supporting and achieving the mission and vision of national identity as they aim to contribute to achieving overall development in the UAE. Focusing on introducing this idea to students in early academic grades will have a tremendous impact on them in the future.

Finally, the ID card project must be lauded. The ID card contains high level security features according to the best global standards for security and safety in the field of digital technology and information security. Emirates Identity Authority endeavors, through this project, to establish a secure and safe population database of all inhabitants in the UAE. These endeavors to care for everyone and protect their rights and guarantee their safety and facilitate their life details embody the strategic principles calling for maintaining the national identity.

The UAE under the leadership of President His Highness Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, may Allah protect him, attaches great importance to developing government work as part of its keenness on upgrading the services provided to nationals in all fields. In this context, the “First Government Summit”, scheduled to be held in the UAE in February 2013 with the participation of leaders from both the federal and local sectors and representatives from a range of international organizations and bodies as well as international experts, will come with a distinctive initiative launched by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, may Allah save him, which will have a positive effect on developing government work due to the fact that it will allow experiences to be exchanged and the best practices to be discussed together with the modern experiences and tendencies of government work and the means of creativity and innovation in developing government services in all sectors.

HH Sheikh Mohammed stressed the importance of organizing this summit to be an ideal platform for exchanging expertise and polishing skills in order to achieve excellent government services under the UAE strategic role and prominent status in all fields. This clearly reflects the philosophy of development adopted by the UAE to develop government work and aimed at upgrading the services provided to individuals of the society as embodied in the many initiatives and programs that were launched over the past few days and served this objectives including “Sheikh Khalifa Government Excellence Program”, which seeks to enable the government sector in the UAE to excel in its systems, performance, services and results through applying a world-class excellence model and continuing to launch a diverse array of development initiatives aimed at enhancing the culture of creativity, loyalty and excellence among all government sector employees. Another example is the Emirates Award for Distinguished Government Performance, which effectively contributes to empowering the federal government employees and streamlining their role to enable them to shoulder the different responsibilities of government work, not to mention its importance in consolidating the culture of excellence and creativity in the minds of employees to enable them to do their best to serve their country and achieve the hopes and aspirations of the UAE people and leadership. Add to this, the UAE pays considerable attention to developing human resources and upgrading the aptitudes of the employees working in government authorities and organizations with the aim of reinforcing the infrastructure of the entire federal body and supporting its readiness to take more improvement initiatives and speed up the march towards excellence and taking the lead based on the belief that the human element is the mainstay for developing government work.

The government’s strategy for the years (2011-2013) included some strategic objectives that set the general framework of government work, the most outstanding of which lie in enhancing actual co-ordination and integration between the federal government and local government in the UAE on one hand and the federal entities themselves on the other. Other objectives include the provision of excellent government services; investment in building national human capabilities and energies and preparing and developing young leaders; efficient management of government resources; adoption of the culture of excellence and concentration on the methodologies of strategic planning and continuous development of performance; and finally consolidation of the transparency concept and governance systems in the federal entities. These objectives constitute the practical bases of the UAE Vision 2021, which is aimed at upgrading the UAE position and rendering it one of the best countries of the world at all levels.

We believe in destiny and fate and ask Allah for patience in time of misfortune, but road accidents have (human) causes that must be examined thoroughly and continuously. Such causes vary in the UAE and in some countries that witness continuous changes in construction, building and roads, in movement and congestion and in the number of population. May Allah bless the souls of the victims of the last two road accidents in the Sultanate of Oman. The call is for everyone to be careful, abide by the traffic rules and respond to the awareness campaigns carried out by the Ministry of Interior and its various bodies.

One recent call which took place by mere chance but could be used as evidence on the alertness of our security bodies was the call addressed to the UAE people urging them to abide by the speed limits everywhere especially in the Sultanate of Oman and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia as the person exceeding the speed limit, according to the law, would be detained for 48 hours.

The Ministry of Interior statistics showed that 56 children were killed and 1,040 injured in road accidents over the past three years. This figure might be less than previous ones or in comparison to neighboring countries but is still shocking and needs to be addressed. Efforts need to be doubled to address the traffic phenomenon that unfortunately turned over the past years into a scary and deadly phenomenon. Fifty six children are traffic victims over the course of three years, not to mention those injured who exceeded a thousand including ones who definitely, though partially, became disabled. Causes might be simple and preventable. Scientific and objective addressing of the problem is urgently needed and this is not in conflict with our belief in the Acts and Decree of Allah.

In Arabic, only one letter differentiates between the two words “Turmoil” and “Acumen”.

In concept, they are as far from each other as West and East.

A rational person is able to choose the direction that enhances acumen and uses wisdom in what he says, does and thinks.

Our country today is living its best era and is celebrating accomplishments that gave the Emirati citizen privileges whenever he goes.

People have better standard of living enjoying high levels of dignity and comfort.

This has been achieved thanks to a sharp vision, honest and merciful soul and sincere intentions of leaders who were convinced since the start that the human being is the most valuable resource and he is the most important and difficult figure in any construction or project to raise the UAE.

All these tremendous and continuous efforts yielded the unique Emirati model.

They stress the need to cling to the principle of teamwork established by the founding fathers and the leadership is seeking today to reinforce it to be title of the social, political and cultural structure that keeps the UAE in an advanced position in its near and far surroundings.

Taking sides and prejudice harm this spirit of unity and inflict damage on the national structure that has always been the strongest factor in shortening distances and taking leaps of development with different and new notions of success.

Secrecy raises doubts and suspicions and diverts hearts and minds from the most important goal, which is development, prosperity and happiness of the citizen to thinking in countering dangers and being occupied with fighting corruption instead of bringing welfare.

The nation today needs everyone to unite and reinforce the sense of trust in its wise governance.

The opportunity is still lingering for whoever missed the chance or slowed down to join the group with confidence towards the future.

 

In the United Nations E-Government Survey 2012, the UAE ranked 28^th globally and 1^st in the Arab region according to the e-government development index. It advanced 21 positions to the ranking this year. It is a notable leap that shows the extent of development achieved by the UAE with regard to the level of e-government services over the last twelve months. The ranking also shows how the government organizations were able to develop their services significantly in quantity and quality and expanded the use of online tools to provide their services to citizens. The government organizations achieved a level of efficiency, transparency and security and gained the trust of customers from various groups.

The progress made by the UAE in this regard helped it secure the 8^th position among the emerging countries in the e-government field. It is a notable position too as it demonstrates the excellence of the UAE among the emerging economies that have the highest growth rates currently and among the countries classified as leading the global economic growth at the current stage having the highest rates of improvement of the population standard of living in comparison to other countries in the world, either the developed or developing world.

Providing government services via e-portals or what is known as “the e-government portal” is one of the main tools of online service development in the world. It spares customers the trouble of physically going to the premises of government entities to obtain services except in very limited circumstances. It also facilitates citizen navigation. In return, the application of the e-government reduces pressure from government facilities and employees and reduces human error that can be committed by the employees. Such developments should help in reducing the costs of government services and raise their efficiency for the interest of the customers who obtain the services they need with less costs and efforts, faster time and better efficiency.

This applies to the current status in the UAE that made great progress in building and developing its e-government, making it a single portal to provide the majority of government services. It has become one of the few countries in the world that are so close to having an integrated government e-portal according to the UN Survey that placed it among the top ten countries close to a pure one-stop-shop portal. This is the most accurate description of the efforts exerted by the UAE to create a contemporary e-government to express the progress as well as the economic, social and cultural development witnessed in the UAE. They are mostly successful efforts that achieved their milestone goals so far. These efforts are so close to achieving the total goals and purposes so that the e-government dream becomes a reality and the UAE can place a new pillar in building a knowledge society on its land and make great progress in realizing the goals of the comprehensive and sustainable development.

 

We thank God for the gift of wise governance bestowed upon us by God. Our leaders exert their utmost efforts in a blessed journey of giving, generosity and growth. Thanks to the wisdom of President His Highness Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the Master of this vessel called nation directing it towards the shore of security, safety, glory and prosperity and thanks to his clear wisdom, sincere care and kind heart that embrace every one of his children, the sons and daughters of the UAE.

***

Our love for our wise leadership, our identification with its enlightened ideas, our embracing of its genuine principles and our loyalty to its essential values, reflect our deep love of this cherished nation, this nation living in our hearts that we protect with our eyes and nourish with our hearts. It is the UAE, our present, future, and wonderful past. The UAE is our nation that we renew our loyalty, belonging and love for. We love each grain of its sand, breeze of its air and each of its palm trees.

***

Loudly and sincerely, we say, our sheikhs are our leaders, fathers, and crowns on our heads. They are the reason of successes, achievements and creativity of the UAE.

Our words will never suffice to describe our adoration for our sheikhs.

***

Whoever does not know our sheikhs will not understand the eternal relationship we have with our leaders.

Our sheikhs have kind hearts, loving smiles and endless kindness.

Our sheikhs are our role models. Their wisdom renews enthusiasm in our souls and their vision awakes the need forgiving in us.

 

***

Let’s draw together, as we have done before, and will do later, a roadmap of a charter of belonging and harmony with the UAE, our cherished nation and our love in order to protect this “trust” passed on from one generation to another. It is the “trust” of loving the UAE and loving the UAE sheikhs.

 

In the Name of God, Most Gracious, Most Merciful

Truly, I don’t know how to cite the words or write the phrases

They are words coming from the heart to each member of my dear family

They are words of love to each beloved in this blessed family.

It’s a small family in number but large in its feats

It is a family started by Sheikh Zayed, God bless his soul,

And supported by his brothers, Rulers of the Emirates

The harvest was delicious fruits

Tasted by every beloved in this beautiful family

Everyone wants to live with us, and others feel jealous of this love

In fact, I cannot resume my phrases because there are lots of them

I am afraid to run out of words when I haven’t finished listing my family’s feats

Do you know who this family is?

Do you know its members?

Answer:

It is the family of the Emirates Identity Authority

And its managers and staff members

Thanks to Allah first then to the man who gave and is still giving a lot to his sons and brothers, His Highness Sheikh Hazza Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Emirates ID Chairman, and his brother His Highness Sheikh Saif Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Vice-Chairman. They are truly appreciated.

I call upon each member of this family to write, thank and commend his family through writing

Finally, I ask Allah to strengthen our relationship and raise our morale

Thank you all