‘Continuous upgrading must for excellence’

Continuous upgrading and development are indispensable for administering and boosting up total quality management and institutional excellence

DUBAI - Continuous upgrading and development are indispensable for administering and boosting up total quality management and institutional excellence, heads of various government departments opined on Tuesday at the second day of the Dubai Forum for Best Government Practices 2011.

The two-day event, which started on Monday, showcased a variety of government employees’ excellent and innovative experiences, challenges and achievements.

In his presentation, Major-General Mohammed Ahmed Al Marri, Director General of the General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners Affairs - Dubai, said that national identity is a vital issue. “Religion, country, language, traditions and customs are major fundamentals of the national identity.”

Major-General Al Marri then reviewed the practices of his department in terms of Emiratisation, maintaining the general view, use of Arabic language, promotion of Emirati nationality and launching of different initiatives with the aim of boosting the national identity covering heritage, religious, cultural and social domains.

“The expansive financial policy is one of the significant tools for managing the global meltdown,” affirmed Abdul Rahman Al Saleh, Director-General of the Department of Finance, in his speech on the effective management of public finance under the global financial crisis.

Al Saleh recalled the public finance management in the emirate during the recession, the economic challenges Dubai had faced in general and how the crisis was managed.

“The Department of Finance, being fully committed to Dubai Strategy 2015, has launched a long-term plan to ensure financial stability in the emirate.”

Giving a chronology of the award Dubai Chamber had bagged from Dubai Government Excellence Programme, Director-General of Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Hamad Mubarak Buomaim read out a study paper titled ‘Building internal and external satisfaction’.

“The Best Customer Satisfaction Award we won under the Government Excellence Programme in 2009 and 2010 is basically attributable to our customer satisfaction policy which we keep enhancing by persistent training, adopting the open-door policy, developing our human resources and having the employees involved in work trips.”

Meanwhile, a dialogue session was attended by selected employees from Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA), Dubai Health Authority (DHA), Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) and Dubai Police.

The session centered on the importance of government excellence in terms of circumstances and environment the departments provide to assist the creativity of its employees.

The winners in the category of professional excellence from Dubai Police, General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners Affairs, Public Prosecution and Dubai Airports attended another session of dialogue.

They spoke about how they see the excellence, their ambitions and their tour to the US as Ambassadors of Excellence.

The two-day forum was opened at Dubai World Trade Centre on Monday and was attended by His Highness Shaikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai.

ahmedshaaban@khaleejtimes.com

• UAE