Abu Dhabi Government celebrates golden jubilee
Mohammad Bin Zayed receives former and current employees to mark milestone
The UAE has utilised all its regulatory and administrative organisations to serve Emiratis, said His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Abu Dhabi Crown Prince, Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces and Chairman of the Abu Dhabi Executive Council.
Shaikh Mohammad said that Emiratis are the main focus behind every strategy and plan, and that they are at the heart of development and the key pillar for achieving progress. He made these remarks when he received former and current government employees to mark the 50th anniversary of the establishment of the Abu Dhabi Government.
Shaikh Mohammad said that development is a continuous process that requires an evolving vision that is able to overcome challenges. “That is why we are keen on Abu Dhabi’s executive body being a model of government excellence by continued development of the governmental work system to cope with future governments and deal with requirements of development,” he added.
Abu Dhabi yesterday marked the golden jubilee of the Executive Council — the first government that helped shape Shaikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan’s vision for the emirate’s future.
In 1966, after establishing the framework of Abu Dhabi’s Government, Shaikh Zayed tasked it with drawing up the emirate’s first five-year plan.
The government worked with Shaikh Zayed on the first five-year plan, which would pave the way for the new Abu Dhabi Plan some 50 years later.
The Dh2.4 billion plan set out to establish the basic infrastructure that was needed, Dr Zaki Nusseibeh, cultural adviser in the Ministry of Presidential Affairs, said.
Abu Dhabi was then a developing village with no roads, electricity, or water. There was only one school, one clinic in Al Ain and one hotel in Abu Dhabi.
Dr Nusseibeh worked with Shaikh Zayed as the first fiveyear plan focused on investing in education, health and culture. The plan also put the emirate’s infrastructural projects in place, including roads, an airport and a harbour.
Dr Nusseibeh said the plan was initially met with scepticism, recalling a meeting that a British documentary team held with Shaikh Zayed in 1968 to speak about his plans and what he wanted to do in Abu Dhabi. “The producer said as he came out from the meeting, ‘the man was dreaming, how can he achieve all this’?”
However, the first government went far beyond the plan. It built internal roads, a network of roads to link Abu Dhabi to Al Ain, an airport, schools, clinics, and a harbour.
Fifty years on, Abu Dhabi is now established on the world scene as a political power base with advanced infrastructure and a sustainable, diversified and globally open economy.
The Abu Dhabi Executive Council said the Abu Dhabi Plan, which aims to keep the emirate on track towards its Economic Vision 2030, serves as a transitional step towards ensuring that the Abu Dhabi Government achieves the emirate’s vision, through specifying priorities and solving the challenges faced today.
The plan also provides a strong push towards excelling in government work.