Crown Prince Orders Speedy and Efficient Public Services in Fujairah

The Fujairah Crown Prince, His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Hamad Al Sharqi, spoke this week (25 May 2011) to the directors of all his departments and urged them to speed up and facilitate their procedures as they serve the public and investors.

The Crown Prince is not happy with the slow and cumbersome procedures. He has obviously heard stories from business people, investors and the general public about inefficient and slow systems encountered in Fujairah.

Can’t Do Culture

The slow, convoluted processes do not match the marketing propaganda of the UAE being a ‘Can Do’ country.

The common response, that ‘things happen shway shway (slowly, slowly)’ in Fujairah, is wearing thin.

To use the insha’allah expression as an excuse for not getting things done efficiently and on time is a perversion of its meaning and simply a way of passing the blame.

Slow and Cumbersome

What are the processes in Fujairah that you are finding to be slow, confused and inefficient? Pass on your stories. Maybe some publicity might lead to further pep talks from the Prince, a simplifying of the processes and some speedy, smiling service.

One glaring example of inefficiency reported today (27 May 2011) concerns a lack of cooling in schools around the UAE, including some in Fujairah. Despite the intense heat in recent days The National said that the Ministry of Education currently knows of 7,000 faulty AC units in UAE schools! It added that the usual time for getting these cooling units fixed was between five to 10 days. Department officials would not tolerate such slow service in their own homes. The Ministry indicated that these cooling problems would be attended to by the end of the summer holidays! How long is that? The Ministry of Education receives a FAIL for such inefficiency.

Celebrating Service

Write in with your stories of excellent service that you experience in Fujairah. The celebration of the ease of doing business and the ‘can do’ spirit is something that needs to be reported and encouraged.

Well done to the Fujairah Crown Prince for addressing such an important issue.

Geoff Pound

This article is also posted on the Fujairah in Focus—Facebook Page.

Image: The Fujairah Crown Prince, His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Hamad Al Sharqi.