Sheikh Hamdan reviews achievements of the Higher Committee for Development and Citizens Affairs one year after it was set up
Sheikh Hamdan chairs a meeting of the Higher Committee for Development and Citizens Affairs in Dubai. — Photo courtesy: Dubai Media Office
The Government of Dubai has allocated 11,500 land plots to citizens and granted housing loans worth Dh7 billion to 7,000 beneficiaries. The government supported citizens with limited income with Dh438 million and allotted Dh70 million for people of determination.
These came as Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai, chaired a meeting of the Higher Committee for Development and Citizens Affairs that was set up last year.
Last April, 426 UAE citizens were exempted from paying Dh146 million worth of housing loans. The committee had also launched a social initiative called Bayti, which supports citizens with limited income who have received housing grants but require additional funds for the construction or completion and furnishing of their homes.
“We launched a programme to facilitate health services for 19,000 senior citizens, in addition to many other initiatives that touch all aspects of life for the people of Dubai. The top priority of the Dubai government is to provide citizens with the highest quality of life and ensure their stability and prosperity,” Sheikh Hamdan posted on Twitter.
He highlighted how the committee accelerated Emiratisation plans and launched additional investment opportunities for Emiratis. It supervised the employment of 2,000 Emiratis in 2022. A unified platform for UAE citizens provided 500 new investment opportunities in various Dubai neighbourhoods.
“We continue our efforts to ensure citizens can enjoy happiness, wellbeing and a promising future,” he added.
The committee was set up by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai.
ALSO READ:
In its first year, it worked on projects targeting aspects like retirement, social services, housing, quality of life and an innovative endowment structure.
The initiatives included model residential neighbourhoods that offer investment opportunities to Emiratis. The first phase of the project covered Al Mizhar 1, Al Khawaneej 2 and Al Barsha 2.
Seasonal investment opportunities through events like Farmers' Souq and Souq Al Freej aimed to gather Emirati farmers in one place to market their produce directly to consumers.
Another project called the ‘Emirati’ is a comprehensive single-window platform exclusively designed to offer UAE citizens all the city services they need through the DubaiNow application. In its first phase, the ‘Emirati’ initiative allows citizens to benefit from various digital services, including housing and construction grants; social benefits; residential neighbourhood events; and land allocations, among others.
As Associate Editor, Sahim Salim helps tell the UAE story like no one else does - and leads a team of reporters that asks the questions to get news and headlines that matter.