Question of Responsibility

The question of immediate benefit or forthcoming feasibility that would accrue to a ministry, department or government institution is an extremely problematic question and dangerous as it may prevent, or contribute to preventing an institution from doing specific duties towards the society and the nation. Naturally, a purely financial measure can be adopted neither in this place, nor in any other place when talking about a nation and its supreme interests, owing at least to the duty of social responsibility.

The problem lies in the fact that the promotion of the concept of social responsibility is restricted in the UAE, even in announcements. It is limited to corporate responsibility in the narrow social sense of the word or phrase. It is often said that no taxes are imposed on UAE-based companies, which make huge profits in free and open atmospheres; so why do not they contribute to social work by allocating some of their profits to support the budgets allocated for this purpose.

This is part of the social responsibility taken as a whole. Under the meant social responsibility falls the immediate response – away from the question of financial cost – to each national initiative posed, illustrating a general national and social tendency: How will our institutions tend to act as regards the idea of ​​the “Union Tree”, for instance?

Unconventional celebration of the 41^st National Day and all the next national days falls under social responsibility, and so does the support for the creative social and cultural activity seen in our country in this stage of its progress and for the efforts exerted to empower women and the youth.

The titles are many, and the institutions themselves should put the goal of serving social responsibility in this new and renewed proposed concept on top of their priorities before asking themselves at the end of the year  when they inventory their assets and calculate their profits: What did they do or what should they have done as far as social responsibility is concerned?

While we as Arabs and Muslims have a long history of volunteering, solidarity and generosity, it does not seem favorable to cite the institutions of the industrial West and what they offer in the context of social responsibility, but unfortunately this is inevitable.