Reality bites, or so it seems, when one is at the receiving end. Speak to those senior civil servants working in different departments of the Government of Dubai and they will probably nod their heads in agreement. It was in late August this year when they were caught on the wrong foot by His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, for their failure to be at their desks when he arrived for a surprise inspection at their offices.
It was the first day of the week and the tardiness was captured on camera as Shaikh Mohammad made his way around half-empty offices. Within 24 hours, the heads of departments concerned were ‘retired’. One’s admiration for Shaikh Mohammad stems from prompt actions such as this. The public loves him and this is just one reason. In his pursuit to provide top-quality service to the public, he has ushered in a new generation of young and ambitious Emirati leaders who are now expected to do justice to their posts.
Mona Al Merri, Chairperson of Dubai Press Club, said Shaikh Mohammad’s actions were intended to send a strong message to all other heads of public service departments in Dubai. ‘Timeliness starts at the top and we won’t go after employees when their bosses aren’t there’ — this was the terse message that was delivered by Shaikh Mohammad, who is known for spot-checks and is determined to move his country forward.
Across the border, in Saudi Arabia, there are similar stirrings on the issue of tardiness and abuse by public service officials. On his ascension to the throne, King Salman Bin Abdul Aziz vowed: “My first objective for our country is to be a pioneering and successful global model of excellence on all fronts and I will work with you to achieve that.” He began by dismissing some ministers who had been there for long and who, in the eyes of many, had outlived their usefulness. Even some new appointees at the ministerial level were quickly dismissed when it became obvious that they were not living up to the expectations of the new challenges faced by the country. A case in point was the removal of Azzam Al Dakheel, who was appointed as the minister of education by King Salman, but could not even last the first 100 days in office.
The national transformation plan, Saudi Vision 2030, which was unveiled earlier this year has also brought with it new realities, one of them being that the old ways of doing business are simply not applicable any more. With the dramatic fall in oil prices and a supply glut, Saudi Arabia can no longer wholly depend on oil to propel its policy or look after its people. It needed to re-strategise and reform existing plans and work ethics.
Richard Wilson of the Saudi-US Trade Group (SUSTG) said: “Vision 2030 is a Saudi manifesto, announcing a new relationship between the ruling monarchy and the Saudi people. In the introduction and threaded throughout [the vision statement] is a promise of better, more efficient and more transparent government in all facets of Saudi society.” The “once-private and closed-door conversations about the Kingdom’s problems have become more [open] to the Saudi public”.
Ills in the civil sectors of the country had reached unprecedented levels and soon these began to be exposed on social media. Tardiness, nepotism and exploitation had become common practice among a section of high-level officials and they began to be exposed almost on a daily basis on various social media platforms. Government response was also noticeably swift in addressing such shortcomings.
Just last week, alarmed at the level of tardiness within the municipality, Madinah authorities decided to enforce mandatory fingerprint registration for five times on every work day for their employees. The city’s mayor told a local newspaper that “the new system ... was a legal measure aimed at ensuring punctuality and productivity. This shows our keenness to ensure productivity, offer best services to customers, guarantee occupational justice to staff members and identify those who are negligent in their duties”.
Perhaps he was taking a page out of Shaikh Mohammad’s book.
Admitting that some employees of Madinah mayoralty and municipalities were not punctual or on duty during their working hours, the mayor said that such activities were affecting the department’s services and response time to citizens’ and residents’ needs. “In order to discipline these workers, we had to adopt this new system. We have conducted a study on the productivity of employees to improve their services. According to the new mechanism, an employee has to be fingerprinted five times a day. Many important work at the mayoralty and municipal offices have been delayed due to the absence of workers and their negligence,” he added.
Naturally, such a move did not sit well with a lot of employees who have urged the authorities to “review the decision”. But these people have failed to take into account the fact that the times are changing and a new reality is dawning — one that will allow only the sincere and efficient to survive. No longer can these people afford to be complacent. It is time to face the music.
Tariq A. Al Maeena is a Saudi socio-political commentator. He lives in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. You can follow him on Twitter at www.twitter.com/@talmaeena.
