Top management holds “field meeting” with the Souq traders … reports Asian Lite News.
As part of giving a facelift to the Gold Souq, Dubai Municipality has embarked on a mission to identify and finalize the changes and reforms required in this vital market, which is visited by a large numbers of tourists of different ages and nationalities.
As part of the efforts to implement the image enhancement program, Dubai Municipality’s Customers and Partners Relations Department recently organized a field visit of the top management of the Municipality to ascertain the issues faced by the traders in the Souq.
“We have organized the “Meeting in the Field” with Gold Souq traders as part of the Department’s continuous efforts to extend direct communication and unlimited cooperation with its customers and to identify their needs,” said Manal Bin Yaarouf, Acting Director of Customers and Partners Relations Department.
She said the annual initiative aims to enhance relations with the customers of the Municipality in various sectors as partners in the development process of all the practices used in the Municipality.
Bin Yaarouf added that the initiative comes in view of the inability of some traders to leave their shops and their work to go to the Municipality themselves to submit their suggestions and observations.
Eng. Redha Salman, Director of Public Health and Safety Department at Dubai Municipality said that a preliminary assessment of health and safety standards has been conducted in the Gold Souq and focus will be given to recommend the use of equipment and materials that are adaptive to the climatic conditions.
“We have identified, classified and submitted the recommendations to the concerned departments about the required changes in the market,” he said.
Eng. Amin Ahmed Amin, Director of Dubai Central Laboratory (DCL) said that his Department participated in the filed visit to document the remarks of shop owners and gold and jewellery establishments and listen to their suggestions that contribute to simplify the procedures leading to their happiness through the tasks entrusted to DCL in technical aspects such as inspection and collection of samples that are placed in a sealed custom envelope.
“The shop owner sends the sample to DCL for testing, which is done using the latest technology by highly qualified technicians and analysts in this field to ensure that they comply with the specifications,” he said.
Amin said the DCL officials also conduct laboratory calibration of electronic scales of gold and jewellery shops by using modern technologies and expertise with high efficiency to check and confirm their accuracy, because of its significant impact on the merchant and consumer alike.
Jabir Al Ali, Director of General Maintenance Department, said that all the observations of the customers in the market have been listened to and taken into account in order to implement all developmental practices in the field of maintenance.
Faridoon Abdul Rahman Al Awadhi, Head of Security and Administrative Services Section in the Assets Management Department said that the department will study the demand of the customers in the market to provide club cars for the supply of food products in the area.
Khalid Mohammed Ahmed, Head of Urban Heritage Design Projects Section in the Architectural Heritage Department pointed to the importance of monitoring all the needs of traders in the market to promote it on the tourist level as it is located within an important and attractive area.
He said care should be taken in developing it in innovative ways to keep abreast of the urban development in the emirate while preserving the distinctive heritage character and giving aesthetic touches on the facades of buildings in the market and providing architectural elements such as umbrellas, ventilation methods, lighting and smart signage through cooperation with the most specialized engineering companies.
Saeed Al Falasi, Head of Building Inspection Section in the Buildings Department said the Department is assigned to monitor all shops in the market in terms of decoration and interior design as well as check the status of existing buildings in the market and their compatibility with the safety standards of buildings in heritage areas.