vice president
G O V E R N M E N T 29 In August, the Abu Dhabi government announced its own policy agenda for 2007 and 2008. The agenda included 18 independent policy st<strong>at</strong>ements providing details of plans in areas such as planning and economy, energy, tourism, health, educ<strong>at</strong>ion, labour, civil services, culture and heritage, food control, urban planning, transport, environment, health and safety, municipal affairs, police and emergency services, electronic government, women, and legisl<strong>at</strong>ive reform. Commenting on the new agenda, HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan said th<strong>at</strong>: ‘For the people of Abu Dhabi, the public<strong>at</strong>ion of a comprehensive policy agenda will provide unprecedented understanding of the priorities and plans of the government. For the priv<strong>at</strong>e sector, the initi<strong>at</strong>ives outlined in this agenda represent huge opportunities to oper<strong>at</strong>e in new sectors th<strong>at</strong> were previously the traditional realm of the government. For citizens and residents, the policy agenda signals a new era in accountability, transparency and government performance.’ The agenda is expected to enhance the spirit of teamwork among government departments, improving government efficency and improving the quality of services delivered to residents of the emir<strong>at</strong>e, as well as strengthening Abu Dhabi's ability to <strong>at</strong>tract inward investment. The process of administr<strong>at</strong>ive reform got under way in l<strong>at</strong>e 2004, following the election of HH Sheikh Khalifa as President, with a restructuring of the government of Abu Dhabi. Following the election of HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid as Vice President and his appointment as <strong>UAE</strong> Prime Minister in early 2006, after his succession as Ruler of Dubai, the process was then rolled out throughout the country. One major initial step was designed to enhance public particip<strong>at</strong>ion in Government, through the introduction of indirect elections to the country's parliament, the Federal N<strong>at</strong>ional Council (FNC). The changes were first announced by HH Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, in his st<strong>at</strong>ement on the occasion of N<strong>at</strong>ional Day on 2 December 2005. Formerly the 40 members of the FNC, drawn from each of the seven emir<strong>at</strong>es on the basis of their popul<strong>at</strong>ion, were appointed by the rulers but under the new reforms, each ruler selected an Electoral College for his emir<strong>at</strong>e, with its members amounting to <strong>at</strong> least 100 times the number of FNC members for the emir<strong>at</strong>e, (eight each for Abu Dhabi and Dubai, six each for Sharjah and Ra's al-Khaimah, and four each for Fujairah, Ajman and Umm al- Qaiwain). The Colleges were then given the responsibility of electing, from amongst their number, half of the FNC members for their emir<strong>at</strong>e, with the remaining half being appointed by the ruler. A decree by the President in l<strong>at</strong>e August 2006 spelt out the new procedures and also established a N<strong>at</strong>ional Electoral Committee, headed by the Minister of St<strong>at</strong>e for FNC Affairs, a post cre<strong>at</strong>ed in the cabinet reshuffle in February. The selection of the Electoral Colleges was completed by the autumn, with active campaigns then being commenced by those members who sought to win election to the Council. The elections themselves, l<strong>at</strong>e in the year, saw a respectably high turnout, with one woman among the successful candid<strong>at</strong>es. Once the remaining se<strong>at</strong>s for each emir<strong>at</strong>e had been filled by nomin<strong>at</strong>ion from the rulers, the new Federal N<strong>at</strong>ional Council had nine women amongst its 40 members, representing 22.5 per cent of the total, an indic<strong>at</strong>ion of the way in which the <strong>UAE</strong>'s women are expanding their UA E AT A G L A N C E 2 0 0 8