During the meeting, His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid approved a number of decisions that include developing the “50 goals agenda” for the Emirate of Dubai for the next five years … reports Asian Lite News
His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, presided over the first meeting of the Dubai Council, in the presence of H.H. Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and Chairman of Dubai Executive Council, and First Deputy of the Dubai Council, and H.H. Sheikh Maktoum bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai, and Second Deputy of the Dubai Council.
During the meeting, His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid approved a number of decisions that include developing the “50 goals agenda” for the Emirate of Dubai for the next five years, which will be announced within 60 days, with the goals to be included in the performance agreements of general managers.
chair His Highness also approved a new system for the governance of government and semi-government companies under the supervision of Sheikh Maktoum bin Mohammed that obliges them to form boards of directors as a supreme authority, and bars CEOs from assuming board chairmanship, and obliges boards of directors to form committees to evaluate investments, manage risks and submit annual performance reports to the government.
The Dubai Council, chaired by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, decided to start immediately developing a new urban plan for the Emirate of Dubai that changes the quality of life map in the emirate and ensures that Dubai is the best city for living by providing the best global facilities for all residents.
The Council also approved mechanisms and strategies to develop the emirate’s economic system and the addition of attractive sectors to ensure Dubai’s superiority, its global competitiveness and investment attractiveness. His Highness also directed that the six commissioners of the development paths, which form the basis of the “Dubai Council’s” work, shall submit their 100-day plans within two weeks.
Other decisions approved by His Highness at the Dubai Council meeting include establishing the Dubai Media Council headed by H.H. Sheikh Ahmed bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, with the director of the Government of Dubai Media Office as the Vice Chairman and Managing Director.
The Council will include the Government of Dubai Media Office, media production and studio cities, radio networks, TV stations, newspapers, and the Dubai Film and TV Commission.
A deputy general manager position has also been established for all departments in Dubai. In addition, a leadership programme has been launched under the supervision of the Dubai Council to prepare and upskill new general managers and CEOs, while a central committee has been created to approve appointments to leadership positions in the emirate.
These decisions aim to develop a comprehensive and integrated work system with a future vision to upgrade all areas of work and life in Dubai, under the umbrella of the Dubai Council. This is in line with the ‘4th of January Document’ that was announced by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, in which he pledged to continue working on Dubai’s development, improving quality of life for future generations, rebuilding institutional structures, and setting new goals and targets in order to ensure real transformations that help the Emirate maintain its leadership in the region and the world.
His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum said: “We have approved the development of a plan of 50 goals for Dubai for the next five years, which we will announce in 60 days. We will include the plan’s 50 goals in the performance agreements of general managers. What we will announce will be implemented by the team .. or we will replace the team.”
He added: “The establishment of the Dubai Council is the beginning of a series of positive changes in the emirate in line with the regional and global conditions. Dubai’s norm is constant change and development. Personally, I have not stopped changing or renewing for the past 50 years, and never will. We will launch a new project with each meeting of the Dubai Council. I am looking for the new generation of Dubai’s leaders.”
His Highness noted: “We need to monitor all of our global competitiveness indicators. Building the best city for living requires a keen interest in all paths of development and working as one team.”
His Highness concluded: “The Dubai Council will be flexible with regard to adding any new development paths. Its mission is to make Dubai’s key transformations and monitor the emirate’s general development movement regionally and globally.”
The first meeting of the Dubai Council approved the preparation and launch of an agenda that includes 50 goals and projects to be implemented in Dubai in the next five years. There will be a follow-up of their implementation, while all strategies, plans and implementation mechanisms will be developed and identified to ensure their execution. These goals and projects will become an integrated development ecosystem that covers Dubai’s strategic growth paths that were outlined in the ‘4th of January Document’.
The goals and projects will be included in the performance agreements of general managers. The agenda will be completed within 60 days, and it will then be sent to His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum for approval and launch.
The development of a new governance system for government and semi-government companies under the supervision of His Highness Sheikh Maktoum bin Mohammed The Dubai Council also approved a new governance model for government and semi-government corporations, under the supervision of His Highness Sheikh Maktoum bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum. The new governance model obligates all companies to form boards of directors as a supreme authority so that the CEO is prevented from assuming the chairmanship of the board of directors, and the boards of directors are also committed to forming committees to evaluate investments, manage risks and submit annual performance reports to the government.
The new governance model consists of the following items: Forming a board of directors of no less than 7 members in each company as the supreme authority responsible for achieving the goals and implementing the policies for which the company was established.
Selecting members of the board of directors based on various competencies and experiences in a manner that guarantees impartiality and eliminates material or personal conflict of interest and who should not be company employees.
The Board of Directors presents the company’s business plan for the next 10 years to the Dubai Council.
The chairman assumes responsibility for ensuring the efficient work of the board and he may not carry out the duties of the Chief Executive Officer or the Executive Director of the company.
Each company is obligated to form committees specialised in auditing and evaluating investments and managing risks and has qualified independent members and reports to the Board of Directors.
The board of directors shall submit an annual report on the company’s performance and a summary of the board’s activities and the results of the committees’ evaluation and the company’s financial and operating performance.
Finally, the concerned companies must work to implement these directives within two months.
The Dubai Council has adopted mechanisms to develop the economic system in the emirate while adding new sectors to ensure the preservation of Dubai’s superiority and the enhancement of its global competitiveness and investment attractiveness.
His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum directed the six commissioners of the development paths to submit the next 100-day plans within two weeks of the date of the Council’s first meeting.
Also, the Dubai Council approved the formation of the Dubai Media Council headed by H.H. Sheikh Ahmed bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, with the Government of Dubai Media Office’s Director as Vice Chairman and Managing Director.
The council will include the Government of Dubai Media Office, Dubai Media Corporation, Dubai Media City, Dubai Studio City, radio and television networks, newspapers, Dubai TV, and Dubai Film and TV Commission, in order to unify the various media efforts in the emirate under one umbrella that adopts a comprehensive vision to establish Dubai’s position on the map of Arab and international media.
Dubai Media Council’s tasks include establishing a comprehensive strategic vision to make qualitative leaps in the media influence of Dubai, to serve its national agenda, and consolidate efforts and resources to make a real change in the media landscape in Dubai, and affirm its reputation as a cultural and economic metropolis and a centre for finance and business, and a magnet for talent and expertise, and an incubator for development and innovation, which ensures economic, investment and social returns.
Dubai Media Council seeks to enhance Dubai Media’s competitiveness and its responsiveness to all changes, and keeping pace with them and benefiting from their results and data, and adapting them to achieve the vision of the emirate in the media sector with all its fields and channels, to remain a leading centre for the production and development of qualitative media content in the region, as Dubai Media Council strives within its five-year plan to expand the horizon of attracting major media institutions in the world so that they make Dubai their regional media centre, thanks to Dubai’s advanced technical infrastructure and the facilities it provides to the talented and innovative projects in this field.
In a relevant context, the Dubai Council approved commencing work on preparing a comprehensive urban plan for the Emirate of Dubai. The Commissioner General for Infrastructure and Quality of Life was tasked with starting to prepare the plan immediately, and developing a comprehensive vision to achieve quality of life leaps in Dubai.
The comprehensive urban plan aims to make Dubai the best city for living; meeting all the requirements for quality of life, and understanding the future requirements and needs of the lands of Emiratis, developers, and developmental lands in the Emirate of Dubai.
Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid directed the Commissioner General for Infrastructure and Quality of Life to submit a detailed proposal and a comprehensive vision with specific objectives and stages of implementation on this topic, within the next 60 days.
A leadership programme to prepare the new generation of general managers Among the decisions taken by the Dubai Council, a new leadership programme has been approved to prepare the new generation of general managers, under the supervision of the council. This serves to qualify general managers and new chief executives, as well as forming a central committee to approve leadership appointments in the emirate.
A Deputy General Manager position will be created in all Dubai departments. All departments must nominate 3 to 5 candidates to fill this position, while the Dubai Council has the right to nominate whoever it deems appropriate to fill this position as well.
The Mohammed bin Rashid Centre for Leadership Development will prepare them within nine months by enrolling them in the training program for preparing general managers and CEOs.
The new leaders will be assigned strategic projects in Dubai to test their capabilities, and a central committee will be formed to conduct interviews with the Deputy General Managers following an evaluation.
His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum launched the ‘4th of January Document’ to renew the covenant of continued development of the Emirate of Dubai, consolidate justice, and improve life for future generations, in order to keep pace with rapid changes and ensure the achievement of continuous excellence in all areas of development.
The document included the establishment of the Dubai Council chaired by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, and the membership of H.H. Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammad bin Rashid Al Maktoum as a first vice president, and H.H. Sheikh Maktoum bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum as a second vice president, in addition to appointing six senior officials in Dubai to oversee six strategic growth paths in the emirate, and appointing the head of the Executive Office as the Secretary-General of the Dubai Council.
The establishment of the Dubai Council aims to enhance the competitiveness of Dubai, regionally and internationally, by developing new work systems with modern and advanced tools according to futuristic visions, in addition to providing a new and fast mechanism to launch major projects in Dubai.
The Dubai Council is responsible for driving rapid developmental transformation in the emirate, supervising the governance of the economic and social system in Dubai, and ensuring its economic leadership and attractiveness as the best global city to live in.
The council will also plan the vision for the next 50 years in the emirate, supervise the launch of major projects in it, work to open new sectors for development, and explore future opportunities of the global emirate.
The six development paths that the Council will follow up on include Dubai’s economy, Emirati citizens’ services, government development, infrastructure, security and justice, and health and knowledge.