DUBAI, 21 April 2004 — Dubai Crown Prince and UAE Defense Minister Mohammed ibn Rashid Al-Maktoum has told government departments to break free of old structures and meet the challenges of a globalized world.
Speaking at the Arab Management and Government Excellence Program Awards ceremony, he emphasized the need to focus on privatization in government operations.
He was honoring the winners of the Dubai Government Excellence Program Awards and Mohammed ibn Rashid Al-Maktoum Award for Arab Management at the Dubai Chamber of Commerce & Industry.
Al-Maktoum asked officials to apply standards of excellence in all their activities including strategic planning, budgeting and training. It was for this reason that the performance measurement system was set up to monitor the performance of government departments through quarterly reports submitted directly to him.
Al-Maktoum said the government would prepare future leaders by encouraging them to raise standards. “We won’t allow anyone to undermine the development of our valuable human resources. It’s not enough to provide the best education, health and social care for our citizens and then throw them to work in jobs controlled by rigid and outdated management (structures) that oppose growth and development,” he said.
“Without accepting change in our departments and work culture, how will we interact with the world and be able to speak the language of development ... and answer questions raised by the new global economic world order?”
