Cabinet clears Dhs180b budget
59% of zero-deficit plan will fund education, social growth: Mohammed
ABU DHABI: His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the Vice President, Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, on Sunday chaired the UAE cabinet meeting, where a zero-deficit federal budget of Dhs180 billion for the next three years (2019-2021) was approved.
“I have chaired today a Cabinet meeting, during which we approved the federal budget of Dhs180 billion for the next three years,” Sheikh Mohammed tweeted.
“Fifty-nine per cent of the budget will go to education and social development,” he added.
The 2019 budget was approved at a total value of Dhs60.3 billion, allocated to various sectors with a focus on those directly linked to citizens’ well-being, health, and education.
The budget includes 42.3 per cent for community development, 17 per cent for education development, and 7.3 per cent for healthcare services.
SPACE SECTOR
During the Cabinet meeting, a new federal law was adopted to regulate the space and advanced technology sectors in the UAE.
DUBAI: The Cabinet will start today the implementation of the decree extending the residence of widows and divorcees and their children for one year from the date of divorce or death of the breadwinner, according to Brigadier Saeed Rakan Al Rashdi, Acting Director General of the Foreigners Affairs and Ports at the Federal Authority for Identity AND CITIZENSHIP (ICA).
Al Rashidi added, “The decree allows divorcees and widows to stay for one year without a sponsor, aiming to provide them with the opportunity to rectify their social and economic conditions after ensuring that the family can survive after the loss of the breadwinner.”
He said that the decree also aims to provide a safe environment for individuals and families who experience sudden crises, thereby alleviating their suffering.
“It is one of the achievements of the UAE’S national humanitarian record which reinforces the favoured position of the country as a second home for various residents from all over the world,” he added.
Al Rashidi pointed out that the UAE’S position has been achieved by the vision of the Late Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan, whose name has been engraved in the memory of charitable and humanitarian work inside and outside the United Arab Emirates, and has become a unique model of unlimited global giving which does not differentiate between colour, race or religion.
A number of widows and divorcees hailed the decree.