NAFL2nd ISSUE Final 27 December 2016

illion dirhams annually. The number of
accredited programs in UAE universities
has grown from 206 to 862. The rate of
kindergarten enrolment has grown to 93%,
making UAE among the highest globally.
The rate of high school graduation has also
reached 93%, which also makes us among
the highest globally as well.
Our work together across all sectors has
been tireless. The Excellence awards,
Strategic Planning and Government
Service Improvement programs, Electronic
and Smart Government initiatives, as well
as the government performance
management systems have not been a
waste of time and effort. Our public sector
has witnessed significant improvement.
The concept of Excellence and reaching
first place have become deeply rooted in
our government culture. No wonder, then,
our public sector has seen marked
improvements according to a number of
internationally recognised indicators.
The UAE leads the Middle East today in
over a hundred pivotal development
indicators. In fact, our nation leads globally
in a number of indictors, such as the quality
of our public infrastructure, roads,
maritime and aviation facilities, public
safety and security, the rate of female
enrolment in our universities, government
efficiency and trust in the government,
among others.
In 2006, the rate of road accident fatalities
was approximately 16 to each 100
thousand population. Today, thanks to the
sincere and assiduous work by the teams
at the Ministry of Interior, the rate stands at
5.9 to every 100 thousand and continues
to improve.
Detailing the accomplishments of our
government teams over the past ten years
requires much more room than this short
address. My message today is not only
about celebrating our achievements, but
also evaluating the challenges ahead.
A few years ago, we announced the
Indicators for our National Agenda. There
are 52 national key performance indicators
in education, health, housing, society,
infrastructure, economy, environment,
security, justice, and safety, among others,
which we aim at achieving by 2021, to be
Message
among the best countries globally by that
date, which marks the 50th anniversary of
our Union. These indicators form historic
goals for us in the next five years. They
constitute the greatest challenges ahead
of us; challenges we must overcome in the
years to come.
A week ago, I received a detailed report
about the current progress in achieving
these indicators – it stands at 62 per cent,
which means 38 per cent of the indicators
have not been effectively achieved. We
have only 5 years remaining, a very short
period in the life of a nation. It is not our
custom to appease or ingratiate anyone,
because courtesy at the expense of the
country is not a sign of nationalism.
Today, we issued a directive to form
government teams called "The National
Agenda Execution Teams". The teams
comprise 550 members of our government
across all sectors and departments,
responsible for fulfilling the indicators. The
NAFL REVIEW
teams will be under my direct supervision
to intensify our efforts, mobilise our assets,
and redouble our work in the coming
period, in order to reach one hundred per
cent of the goals of our National Agenda by
the year 2021.
T h e r e i s n o r o o m f o r
procrastination, no time for
delay. History is a witness to all
of us. We have promised our
people to accomplish what is
best and we shall fulfil our
promise. Government work is an
honourable duty, and our
government will ceaselessly and
tirelessly implement its plans
and fulfil its objectives.
I will lead this effort and the teams behind it
personally. We ask God to guide us to what
is best for our country and nation.
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