The last items of paperwork for the move back to Oz are done now, cancelling the residence visas.
My cancellation was easy - my sponsor did it. A bit more involved for Mrs Seabee's though, because I was her sponsor. And I'd had to pay a deposit of Dh10,000 when I arranged it, which I was keen to get back.
I actually started the process a few days ago when I went to the DNRD office in Bur Dubai, on Trade Centre Road. That's where I arranged it all in the beginning so I thought I'd go back there.
It was absolutely packed with people though, although much more orderly than the first visit because now they have the numbered ticket system. It's hardly rocket science, and it's existed in other countries for many years, but it's new here.
And what a huge improvement it is in government departments (and banks and other organisations). It replaces the chaos we always had of everyone pushing and shoving, waving papers and shouting to get the attention of someone behind the counter. Now you tell the ticket dispenser person what you're there for, he gives you a numbered ticket and tells you the counter number(s) to go to. You sit and wait for the machine to bleep and display your number, telling you which counter to go to.
Anyway, even with a more orderly crowd the size of it made me think I'd be there for most of the day. So I decided to drive down SZR and go to the smaller, less popular Jebel Ali DNRD office. It was as I'd expected, very unbusy.
Now anything you do at DNRD requires 'typing'. Generally you have no idea what's being typed, and it's in Arabic of course. But you have to have 'typing'.
I told the Information person I was there to cancel a visa. "First typing. Then any desk".
I told the typing department ticket issuer what I was there for, got my ticket and sat down. For an hour. The 'typing' took twenty minutes. Another fifteen minutes waiting at a DNRD desk until I was first in the queue (no ticket numbers for this bit, just sitting in order on the bench seat and shuffling along as the people ahead of me were dealt with).
The actual cancellation took about two minutes.
Then I took my Dh10,000 deposit receipt to the cashier desk.
I was told that as it was issued in Bur Dubai I had to get the refund from Bur Dubai.
Another of those inexplicable obstacles you run into here. It's all the same DNRD, one large government department, but you have to get the deposit refund from where you lodged it.
Back up SZR to Bur Dubai DNRD.
There seem to be just three desks for deposit refund paperwork and I was their only customer.
That's when I hit the next obstacle. As with just about anything official you have to do here, you don't know what you're supposed to do, you don't know what you have to bring with you and there's no way of finding out in advance. It's only when you try to do whatever it is that you're told what you should have brought with you and what the process is.
I didn't have all the bits of paper I needed, so I gave up and went to get some coffee.
I haven't been able to get there again until today and as it's the first day of Ramadan I wasn't too confident about it all.
In fact the office was almost deserted. Plenty of people behind desks but with no-one waiting to be served. No big queues at the ticket dispenser. I got my ticket, only waited about five minutes and then it was my turn.
"Go to typing to get letter, then come back".
Out to the Dickensian typing office.
Tiny, hot, crowded both sides of the counter. No numbered tickets here, and it's the east-west queue rather than the north-south queue. That is, a double line of people the length of the counter, pushing and shoving, waving papers, yelling in a variety of languages.
I joined in, told them I wanted a deposit refund letter, paid the oddly precise amount of Dh19 and waited while they photocopied everything and printed out an Arabic letter.
Back to the DNRD counter and five minutes later I had the authorised deposit receipt.
I asked where I had to take it and was told, "Outside bank".
I wandered outside and found a Commercial Bank of Dubai branch. Got my ticket, waited five minutes, signed and had to write my mobile phone number on various bits of paper, and had to pay Dh20 for something or other. I was eventually given ten crisp new Dh1,000 notes.
So it's done. All the paperwork's completed, the deposit's back where it belongs in my wallet.
We're booked to leave in a couple of weeks.
Showing posts with label government. Show all posts
Showing posts with label government. Show all posts
Monday, August 01, 2011
Wednesday, July 06, 2011
Vehicle transfer
I approach dealings with government departments, anywhere, with a sinking feeling.
I expect to sit and wait for hours before I'm called to a counter.
I fully expect to not be on the same wavelength as the people I have to deal with (I've posted about this before and readers have left comments about their attempts to hold a meaningful conversation with bureaucrats).
I expect to be directed from counter to counter, department to department.
I expect it, whatever it is, to take at least half a day.
So yesterday was the day to do the car transfer of ownership and I approached it with the usual dread.
It was a doddle.
I can't believe it. Twenty minutes from start to finish. Friendly, efficient people. A simple process.
For when you have to go through it, here's the story.
I went to the Al Barsha Traffic Department, next to the Mall of the Emirates interchange on Sheikh Zayed Road.
You go not to the traffic department building itself but to the adjacent Tasjeel facility next to the EPPCO petrol station.
You need both seller and buyer to be there, they each need a passport copy (main page and residency visa page) and the buyer has to have an insurance policy on the vehicle. You need both driving licences and the current registration card. And some cash.
Regardless of when the vehicle was tested and registered it has to be done again.
I highly recommend you pay Dh150 for Express Service. If you do, you just park your vehicle and wait in the air-condirtioned office. Someone takes the vehicle, jumps the queue, tests the vehicle, issues the test certificate, brings it all to the office. Ten minutes.
You fill in a simple one sheet form - name of seller, name of buyer, vehicle details/numbers, that sort of thing.
You're asked if you have any outstanding fines, money owing on the vehicle, has the buyer paid you, whether the buyer wants a new registration number.
You hand over the money and in return get a wad of paper, the new registration card in the new owner's name.
That's it. Done. Twenty minutes.
But a heads up if you're served by Faisal Al Hamadi.
"Any fines" he asked.
"No, I'm a law-abiding sort of a person" I said.
He checked the computer. "Ah. One big fine. The police will confiscate your car for one month"
WHAT!
I dash round to look at the computer. He enjoys that. "Just joking"
A bit later he looks at the test certificate - which I haven't seen. "Any accident?"
"A car drove in the back of me two years ago, minor damage and it was an official dealer repair"
"Chassis damage" he says.
WHAT!
Dash for the computer again.
He enjoyed that too. "Just joking"
I don't mind. A government employee with a sense of humour, appearing to enjoy his work. He's also pleasant, friendly, efficient. Much better than the usual surly, unhelpful 'don't want to be here' attitude of so many bureacrats.
So a process I was dreading was actually very simple and efficient and not at all unpleasant.
I expect to sit and wait for hours before I'm called to a counter.
I fully expect to not be on the same wavelength as the people I have to deal with (I've posted about this before and readers have left comments about their attempts to hold a meaningful conversation with bureaucrats).
I expect to be directed from counter to counter, department to department.
I expect it, whatever it is, to take at least half a day.
So yesterday was the day to do the car transfer of ownership and I approached it with the usual dread.
It was a doddle.
I can't believe it. Twenty minutes from start to finish. Friendly, efficient people. A simple process.
For when you have to go through it, here's the story.
I went to the Al Barsha Traffic Department, next to the Mall of the Emirates interchange on Sheikh Zayed Road.
You go not to the traffic department building itself but to the adjacent Tasjeel facility next to the EPPCO petrol station.
You need both seller and buyer to be there, they each need a passport copy (main page and residency visa page) and the buyer has to have an insurance policy on the vehicle. You need both driving licences and the current registration card. And some cash.
Regardless of when the vehicle was tested and registered it has to be done again.
I highly recommend you pay Dh150 for Express Service. If you do, you just park your vehicle and wait in the air-condirtioned office. Someone takes the vehicle, jumps the queue, tests the vehicle, issues the test certificate, brings it all to the office. Ten minutes.
You fill in a simple one sheet form - name of seller, name of buyer, vehicle details/numbers, that sort of thing.
You're asked if you have any outstanding fines, money owing on the vehicle, has the buyer paid you, whether the buyer wants a new registration number.
You hand over the money and in return get a wad of paper, the new registration card in the new owner's name.
That's it. Done. Twenty minutes.
But a heads up if you're served by Faisal Al Hamadi.
"Any fines" he asked.
"No, I'm a law-abiding sort of a person" I said.
He checked the computer. "Ah. One big fine. The police will confiscate your car for one month"
WHAT!
I dash round to look at the computer. He enjoys that. "Just joking"
A bit later he looks at the test certificate - which I haven't seen. "Any accident?"
"A car drove in the back of me two years ago, minor damage and it was an official dealer repair"
"Chassis damage" he says.
WHAT!
Dash for the computer again.
He enjoyed that too. "Just joking"
I don't mind. A government employee with a sense of humour, appearing to enjoy his work. He's also pleasant, friendly, efficient. Much better than the usual surly, unhelpful 'don't want to be here' attitude of so many bureacrats.
So a process I was dreading was actually very simple and efficient and not at all unpleasant.
Tuesday, November 09, 2010
Clarification tomorrow
There are reports in the papers this morning that the UAE's Ottawa embassy has announced that Canadians will need a visa to enter the UAE, effective January 2.
No details, no requirements are given.
Stand by for a series of clarifications...
No details, no requirements are given.
Stand by for a series of clarifications...
Saturday, October 30, 2010
UAE in the news
Dubai and Ras Al Khaimah are in the international news again I see.
The UK Daily Telegraph had a piece that tells us that in RAK a 'power struggle threatens stability in wake of monarch's death'.
Soldiers are on the street it said: Sheikh Khalid al-Qasimi, the elder son of the late ruler, Sheikh Saqr bin Mohammed al-Qasimi, was on Wednesday night holed up in his palace, claiming to be the rightful successor, while troops were marshalled outside to enforce the claim of his younger brother, the Crown Prince Sheikh Saud.
Some of you are closer to the action than me right now - what's happening?
Then Dubai is back in the news with a parcel bomb destined for the US found at the airport, although naturally the main focus of the UK press is the discovery of another parcel bomb on a cargo plane at their East Midlands airport.
It makes life down here on the other side of the world seem very normal and relaxed.
Parcel bombs.
RAK excitement.
The UK Daily Telegraph had a piece that tells us that in RAK a 'power struggle threatens stability in wake of monarch's death'.
Soldiers are on the street it said: Sheikh Khalid al-Qasimi, the elder son of the late ruler, Sheikh Saqr bin Mohammed al-Qasimi, was on Wednesday night holed up in his palace, claiming to be the rightful successor, while troops were marshalled outside to enforce the claim of his younger brother, the Crown Prince Sheikh Saud.
Some of you are closer to the action than me right now - what's happening?
Then Dubai is back in the news with a parcel bomb destined for the US found at the airport, although naturally the main focus of the UK press is the discovery of another parcel bomb on a cargo plane at their East Midlands airport.
It makes life down here on the other side of the world seem very normal and relaxed.
Parcel bombs.
RAK excitement.
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
Meanwhile, back at the coalface...
Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid has approved a document setting out standards for federal public employees.
"The document identifies 13 core values which distinguish professional behaviour and the ethics of a governmental job in the federal sector. These 13 core values included excellence, diligence, efficiency, leadership, hard work, objectivity, honesty, sincerity, impartiality, adhering to economy and transparency values, plus integrity, fairness and equality.
The document also clearly pointed out that gaining preferential treatment through nepotism and favouritism in a public post must be avoided, a Federal Government representative said.
Another important principle mentioned in the document is the commitment of employees — it must preserve the professional dignity of public posts, to not exploit a profession's authority due to rank or status, to be committed to using resources in an honest manner and to refrain from practices that result in conflicts of interest."
It's another of the well meaning directives from on high, introduced in all sincerity, that we see around the world from governments.
High flown phrases, laudable principles.
The problem is that it has a long way to go to get to the end of the line, to the public servant who's actually face to face with the enemy - us. The public.
So back in the real world the friction between public employee and public won't change. Nor, I'm sure, will the use of wasta.
They'll continue to be bureaucrats, doing what bureaucrats all over the world do, talking their impenetrable language, tying us up in kilometres of red tape, making life difficult for us.
Gulf News reports here.
"The document identifies 13 core values which distinguish professional behaviour and the ethics of a governmental job in the federal sector. These 13 core values included excellence, diligence, efficiency, leadership, hard work, objectivity, honesty, sincerity, impartiality, adhering to economy and transparency values, plus integrity, fairness and equality.
The document also clearly pointed out that gaining preferential treatment through nepotism and favouritism in a public post must be avoided, a Federal Government representative said.
Another important principle mentioned in the document is the commitment of employees — it must preserve the professional dignity of public posts, to not exploit a profession's authority due to rank or status, to be committed to using resources in an honest manner and to refrain from practices that result in conflicts of interest."
It's another of the well meaning directives from on high, introduced in all sincerity, that we see around the world from governments.
High flown phrases, laudable principles.
The problem is that it has a long way to go to get to the end of the line, to the public servant who's actually face to face with the enemy - us. The public.
So back in the real world the friction between public employee and public won't change. Nor, I'm sure, will the use of wasta.
They'll continue to be bureaucrats, doing what bureaucrats all over the world do, talking their impenetrable language, tying us up in kilometres of red tape, making life difficult for us.
Gulf News reports here.
Monday, July 26, 2010
A classy election
The Australian election is under way, our first female PM having called the election a few weeks after taking power.
The quality of the debate & the candidates and the tactics the parties stoop to never inspire confidence, and this time the bar's been set as low as ever from the outset.
It began with the handling of a TV debate between the leaders.
Demonstrating how seriously it was taken, the original 7.30pm broadcast time was changed to 6.30...so that it wouldn't clash with the cooking show Masterchef.
The choice: to watch the one and only TV debate between the contestants who will set the country's policy for the next few years or a 'reality' cooking show. It was obviously assumed that the electorate would choose the latter.
As for candidates, the Liberal (conservative) opposition party - led by a former trainee priest known popularly as the Mad Monk - put up in a Sydney constituency a 'conservative Christian' (don'tcha love euphemisms) to stand against a self professed "non-practising Muslim", Ed Husic.
Guess where the debate in that electorate was headed.
Fortunately the candidate has been making his views known on Facebook:
The NSW Liberals appear to have had something of a road to Damascus conversion in the lightning-fast decision to dump the conservative Christian, David Barker, as their candidate for the western Sydney seat of Chifley.
Questioned about Barker's anti-Muslim Facebook comments by Laurie Oakes on Channel Nine on Sunday, shadow treasurer Joe Hockey condemned Barker for "trying to use religion as some sort of tool in the election campaign"
Shock, horror! Bringing religion into the campaign!
Obviously it was purely coincidental that a Muslim candidate had a radical Christian put up against him.
Oh, but wait:
In 2004, the party chose another conservative Christian, the Hillsong Church member Louise Markus, as their candidate in the western Sydney seat of Greenway to go up against Husic. That campaign, too, was marred by allegations of religious scare-mongering.
Anyway, you'd be forgiven for thinking the choice of a radical Christian was deliberate, especially as the cat's out of the bag about a deal between Barker and the party powerbrokers to keep his extreme views out of the public arena. He'd agreed "to give the answers they had recommended".
There's still a month to go before polling day so the fun's only just started.
Oh, and some fun trivia. The Libs' leader, the Mad Monk, is Mr Abbott. And the candidate who's replaced the dumped radical Christian is Venus Priest.
Masterchef wins.
Religion & politics.
The quality of the debate & the candidates and the tactics the parties stoop to never inspire confidence, and this time the bar's been set as low as ever from the outset.
It began with the handling of a TV debate between the leaders.
Demonstrating how seriously it was taken, the original 7.30pm broadcast time was changed to 6.30...so that it wouldn't clash with the cooking show Masterchef.
The choice: to watch the one and only TV debate between the contestants who will set the country's policy for the next few years or a 'reality' cooking show. It was obviously assumed that the electorate would choose the latter.
As for candidates, the Liberal (conservative) opposition party - led by a former trainee priest known popularly as the Mad Monk - put up in a Sydney constituency a 'conservative Christian' (don'tcha love euphemisms) to stand against a self professed "non-practising Muslim", Ed Husic.
Guess where the debate in that electorate was headed.
Fortunately the candidate has been making his views known on Facebook:
The NSW Liberals appear to have had something of a road to Damascus conversion in the lightning-fast decision to dump the conservative Christian, David Barker, as their candidate for the western Sydney seat of Chifley.
Questioned about Barker's anti-Muslim Facebook comments by Laurie Oakes on Channel Nine on Sunday, shadow treasurer Joe Hockey condemned Barker for "trying to use religion as some sort of tool in the election campaign"
Shock, horror! Bringing religion into the campaign!
Obviously it was purely coincidental that a Muslim candidate had a radical Christian put up against him.
Oh, but wait:
In 2004, the party chose another conservative Christian, the Hillsong Church member Louise Markus, as their candidate in the western Sydney seat of Greenway to go up against Husic. That campaign, too, was marred by allegations of religious scare-mongering.
Anyway, you'd be forgiven for thinking the choice of a radical Christian was deliberate, especially as the cat's out of the bag about a deal between Barker and the party powerbrokers to keep his extreme views out of the public arena. He'd agreed "to give the answers they had recommended".
There's still a month to go before polling day so the fun's only just started.
Oh, and some fun trivia. The Libs' leader, the Mad Monk, is Mr Abbott. And the candidate who's replaced the dumped radical Christian is Venus Priest.
Masterchef wins.
Religion & politics.
Thursday, June 24, 2010
It's a woman's world, Oz
So we have a new Prime Minister in Australia, Julia Gillard.
Yes, Julia. Our first female PM.
Overnight the ruling Labor Party decided to remove their leader, the then PM Kevin Rudd, and as they elected Ms Gillard to be the party's new leader she becomes Prime Minister.
Although she's the first female PM, women have already made their mark in our political system, although they're not really known outside Australia.
The country's Governor-General, Quentin Bryce, for example:
In my home state of New South Wales, the Governor is Marie Bashir:
We have a female premier running the state government too, Kristina Keneally:
Sydney has a female Lord Mayor, Clover Moore:
Our neighbouring northern state of Queensland has a female Governor and Premier too.
I only mention it because the image of the country is that it's generally a blokey, macho, male-dominated place and to learn that women are in these positions may come as something of a surprise to people.
And, of course, because the media is going to be full of the gender thing.
Actually, I think it's irrelevant. Ability and talent are what matter as far as I'm concerned. Is this person going to be a good PM, not a good female PM - any more than it mattered how her predecessor Kevin Rudd performed as a male PM.
By the way, also a reflection of Australia is the background of the women I've mentioned. Some were born in Oz, the new PM was born in Wales, our Premier was born in the USA, the NSW Governor was born in Oz to Lebanese immigrants.
Oh yes, and like ten or fifteen percent of couples the PM and her partner are not married.
Apart from all the political excitement, things back in Oz are normal according to Sydney local radio I'm listening to.
Whales are frolicking off Bondi beach, a truck has jacknifed on the only road between Sydney and my home town, causing traffic chaos, and the football team didn't progress beyond the group stages of the World Cup.
Yes, Julia. Our first female PM.
Overnight the ruling Labor Party decided to remove their leader, the then PM Kevin Rudd, and as they elected Ms Gillard to be the party's new leader she becomes Prime Minister.
Although she's the first female PM, women have already made their mark in our political system, although they're not really known outside Australia.
The country's Governor-General, Quentin Bryce, for example:
In my home state of New South Wales, the Governor is Marie Bashir:
We have a female premier running the state government too, Kristina Keneally:
Sydney has a female Lord Mayor, Clover Moore:
Our neighbouring northern state of Queensland has a female Governor and Premier too.
I only mention it because the image of the country is that it's generally a blokey, macho, male-dominated place and to learn that women are in these positions may come as something of a surprise to people.
And, of course, because the media is going to be full of the gender thing.
Actually, I think it's irrelevant. Ability and talent are what matter as far as I'm concerned. Is this person going to be a good PM, not a good female PM - any more than it mattered how her predecessor Kevin Rudd performed as a male PM.
By the way, also a reflection of Australia is the background of the women I've mentioned. Some were born in Oz, the new PM was born in Wales, our Premier was born in the USA, the NSW Governor was born in Oz to Lebanese immigrants.
Oh yes, and like ten or fifteen percent of couples the PM and her partner are not married.
Apart from all the political excitement, things back in Oz are normal according to Sydney local radio I'm listening to.
Whales are frolicking off Bondi beach, a truck has jacknifed on the only road between Sydney and my home town, causing traffic chaos, and the football team didn't progress beyond the group stages of the World Cup.
Monday, December 21, 2009
A different pace Part 3
I've posted a couple of times about the slow pace of construction work in Oz compared to Dubai, with the upgrading of our street as an example.
The street is more like a country lane:
Seven years ago the council decided to put in underground drains, a kerb and a footpath, which also meant doing a bit of landscaping when they'd finished. You can see the grass they planted in the areas where the curb has been finished.
In seven years they managed to get about a kilometre done and got up to our house, which at the end of October looked like this:
Yesterday my neighbour told me the 'workmen' had now stopped for their three week Christmas/New Year holiday and he sent me updated photographs.
The've done a better job than I expected, but to get from the previous photograph to this has taken two months...
When they come back in three weeks they have to finish the wall on the right then do the same for the four more houses to the end of the street.
Then they have to resurface the road.
I'm guessing March.
The street is more like a country lane:
Seven years ago the council decided to put in underground drains, a kerb and a footpath, which also meant doing a bit of landscaping when they'd finished. You can see the grass they planted in the areas where the curb has been finished.
In seven years they managed to get about a kilometre done and got up to our house, which at the end of October looked like this:
Yesterday my neighbour told me the 'workmen' had now stopped for their three week Christmas/New Year holiday and he sent me updated photographs.
The've done a better job than I expected, but to get from the previous photograph to this has taken two months...
When they come back in three weeks they have to finish the wall on the right then do the same for the four more houses to the end of the street.
Then they have to resurface the road.
I'm guessing March.
Saturday, November 28, 2009
A PR disaster
On Thursday, the morning after Dubai World's bombshell announcement that payment of the Nakheel bond due on December 14 was to be delayed, I said it was "badly, badly handled all round".
An understatement.
It was actually a classic of mishandling. Business schools should use it as a case study of exactly what not to do. Of how to turn bad news into a disaster.
There's inevitably been over-reaction, with bond and stock markets plunging from Europe to Asia to the US to Australia, bank shares hammered, a flight to safe havens, damning stories all around the world.
"Nervous traders, trying to understand what it meant, caused havoc across global markets. Shares plunged, currencies were battered and billions of pounds were wiped off the value of all companies with Middle East connections. British banks, considered to be among the most exposed to Dubai, were at the centre of this new maelstrom and collectively shed £14bn in value on Thursday alone."
Daily Telegraph
An overreaction of course but panic is the natural reaction of markets to bad news. After a short period it settles down as people think rather than just act but blind panic is always the first response.
To put it in perspective the amounts involved (about $60billion) are tiny in relation to what's been going on in the world. Companies like Lehman Bros ($613billion liabilities), banks by the dozen, countries like Iceland were leveraged multiple times more than DW, making Dubai World's debts almost petty cash.
But Dubai's reputation is taking a battering because of the way the thing was handled.
Statements in the months leading up to the maturing of Nakheel's bond were that the finances were all in order, then came the terse announcement on Wednesday that payment due on December 14 would be deferred at least six months. The timing of the announcement minutes before the ten day holiday added immeasurably to the problem, causing the doubts and panic, increasing the fallout. An obvious attempt to dodge the hard questions that were bound to be asked.
The problem isn't only the admission that the commitments couldn't be met - there's still belief that Abu Dhabi will come to the rescue. The way it's been handled leads people to believe that Dubai's much-vaunted business acumen is a myth. If they can't even handle something like this competently...
I've been glancing through some of my regular reads and I'm finding:
"Released after the markets shut, ahead of the 10-day Eid holiday and the Thanksgiving break in America, the notice was designed to have minimum impact. It wasn't the Dubai government's first miscalculation.amateurish...botched messaging...episode of incompetence...the biggest debt-market cock-up...this week's events have damaged its reputation for economic competence"
The Nakheel bond has been the subject of much speculation for a year at least. It was the big test of Dubai's ability to service its debt, of Dubai's ability to run businesses effectively. In a wider sense it was also taken a representative of Islamic bonds in general.
Past months have seen senior government figures reassuring the markets. Dubai could and would meet its commitments they said.
Even earlier in the day of the announcement statements were released about Dubai raising another $5 billion from Abu Dhabi banks.
So everything was under control.
What happened?
They decided to make the announcement of what is being seen as a default at close of business.
At close of business on the eve of a ten day holiday.
Drop a bombshell as you leave for holiday.
"Dubai’s authorities have acted badly....This week’s revelations were not only unexpected; they were also delivered just as the Gulf states shut up shop for an extended holiday. This is the action of a company that seems to think that it can operate in a globalised marketplace only when it suits its purposes."
The Times
I seems it's not only investors and traders who were caught by surprise. More than one report suggests that even Abu Dhabi wasn't aware that the announcement was going to be made.
"Thursday's market turmoil appeared to take federal officials in the capital Abu Dhabi by surprise. One person familiar with their thinking said there was dismay over the reaction to the handling of the announcement."
Wall Street Journal
There are also reports that 'frantic phone calls' to government officials and business leaders were unanswered.
Naturally. Everyone's on holiday. Try again about December 6. No problem, that's not even two weeks away and everything's under control anyway.
It was carefully planned, according to the statement issued late on Thursday.
I like the column by Alistair Osborne in the Daily Telegraph on the subject:
"Why we must consider Dubai's 'careful planning' a work of pure genius
Let's be generous here. Maybe Dubai was just trying to set another record.
It's already given us the biggest building, biggest indoor ski slope, biggest shopping mall and biggest theme park. Surely, it was only a matter of time before it went for another biggie: the biggest debt-market cock-up.
The Wall Street journal says:
"For Dubai to now claim it had anticipated the market reaction to its "sensible business decision" is preposterous. Dubai stands accused of irresponsibility, incompetence and bad faith. Few will trust now anything it says."
So, a PR disaster of the highest magnitude. Unbelievably badly handled. I can't imagine what they were thinking, it shows a complete unawareness of the real business world.
It's astonishing from a city that owes its very existence to commerce. A city that's been a successful trading, commercial centre from its beginnings. Where business is the culture.
It really should, and probably will, be required study at business schools.
But it won't be the end of Dubai, in spite of what some commentators will now be saying. We've already seen some of that, plus highly critical pieces using the announcement as an excuse to come back into print, such as the latest Johann Hari piece in The Independent.
The sky won't fall in. The desert won't reclaim the city. It won't be a ghost town.
Think of it terms we've grown accustomed to over the past year. Think of it as toxic debt. It's separate from the real economy. It's like the financial markets and the real economy, they're very different from each other.
This is about the ability of one company in particular, and associated companies, to repay its loans.
Dubai has two sectors, the most important is the real economy where tens of thousands of generally SMEs are still trading, still doing profitable business. Dubai Chamber of Commerce has over 100,000 members for example, and Jebel Ali Free Zone alone has over 6,000 companies registered there.
Other large government-related companies such as Emirates Airline, Dubal, Ducab, Dubai International Airport, Dubai Duty Free are all producing excellent profits.
And of course the old established merchant family conglomerates are still going strong - Al Ghurair, Al Futtaim, Al Majid, Al Habtoor, Galadari and the others.
So business goes on much as usual in the real world. It's always been there, trundling along quietly and profitably out of the news. Dubai's history since the early eighteen-hundreds has been about being commercially successful and going on into the future that will continue.
The other sector is the fantasy world of unsustainable development. But that was a blip in the grand scheme of things for the last five or six years, for other parts of the world too, not just for Dubai - although Dubai's was more outrageous, more unsustainable than probably anywhere. That's what's dead, the fantasy world, the parallel universe, to which Nakheel was the worst contributor.
I said earlier that Dubai's culture was business, which is what I've long argued with people who've said there's no culture. People are here to work, to do business, and always have been. It's the focus of just about everyone here and it's the reason for the city's existence.
But another part of the culture is 'I must have it now' and that's been a large part of the problem. Wanting to build a city the size of Singapore in a decade.
What's actually been achieved is amazing but Nakheel in particular went far too far in too many grandiose developments at the same time. Reality went out of the window and they were off in the land of the fairies. Reality always reappears as it has now.
It's a pity the old established merchant families weren't in charge. In fact it seems with the recent sackings and sideways transfers of some big-name rising stars that the old guard is being brought in to get things back onto a more sensible level.
A huge PR disaster, damage to Dubai's reputation, damage that will take some time to repair, and a setback for Dubai's growth. But not its collapse.
You can read some of the international press I've quoted from here:
The Times.
Daily Telegraph.
Wall Street Journal.
An understatement.
It was actually a classic of mishandling. Business schools should use it as a case study of exactly what not to do. Of how to turn bad news into a disaster.
There's inevitably been over-reaction, with bond and stock markets plunging from Europe to Asia to the US to Australia, bank shares hammered, a flight to safe havens, damning stories all around the world.
"Nervous traders, trying to understand what it meant, caused havoc across global markets. Shares plunged, currencies were battered and billions of pounds were wiped off the value of all companies with Middle East connections. British banks, considered to be among the most exposed to Dubai, were at the centre of this new maelstrom and collectively shed £14bn in value on Thursday alone."
Daily Telegraph
An overreaction of course but panic is the natural reaction of markets to bad news. After a short period it settles down as people think rather than just act but blind panic is always the first response.
To put it in perspective the amounts involved (about $60billion) are tiny in relation to what's been going on in the world. Companies like Lehman Bros ($613billion liabilities), banks by the dozen, countries like Iceland were leveraged multiple times more than DW, making Dubai World's debts almost petty cash.
But Dubai's reputation is taking a battering because of the way the thing was handled.
Statements in the months leading up to the maturing of Nakheel's bond were that the finances were all in order, then came the terse announcement on Wednesday that payment due on December 14 would be deferred at least six months. The timing of the announcement minutes before the ten day holiday added immeasurably to the problem, causing the doubts and panic, increasing the fallout. An obvious attempt to dodge the hard questions that were bound to be asked.
The problem isn't only the admission that the commitments couldn't be met - there's still belief that Abu Dhabi will come to the rescue. The way it's been handled leads people to believe that Dubai's much-vaunted business acumen is a myth. If they can't even handle something like this competently...
I've been glancing through some of my regular reads and I'm finding:
"Released after the markets shut, ahead of the 10-day Eid holiday and the Thanksgiving break in America, the notice was designed to have minimum impact. It wasn't the Dubai government's first miscalculation.amateurish...botched messaging...episode of incompetence...the biggest debt-market cock-up...this week's events have damaged its reputation for economic competence"
The Nakheel bond has been the subject of much speculation for a year at least. It was the big test of Dubai's ability to service its debt, of Dubai's ability to run businesses effectively. In a wider sense it was also taken a representative of Islamic bonds in general.
Past months have seen senior government figures reassuring the markets. Dubai could and would meet its commitments they said.
Even earlier in the day of the announcement statements were released about Dubai raising another $5 billion from Abu Dhabi banks.
So everything was under control.
What happened?
They decided to make the announcement of what is being seen as a default at close of business.
At close of business on the eve of a ten day holiday.
Drop a bombshell as you leave for holiday.
"Dubai’s authorities have acted badly....This week’s revelations were not only unexpected; they were also delivered just as the Gulf states shut up shop for an extended holiday. This is the action of a company that seems to think that it can operate in a globalised marketplace only when it suits its purposes."
The Times
I seems it's not only investors and traders who were caught by surprise. More than one report suggests that even Abu Dhabi wasn't aware that the announcement was going to be made.
"Thursday's market turmoil appeared to take federal officials in the capital Abu Dhabi by surprise. One person familiar with their thinking said there was dismay over the reaction to the handling of the announcement."
Wall Street Journal
There are also reports that 'frantic phone calls' to government officials and business leaders were unanswered.
Naturally. Everyone's on holiday. Try again about December 6. No problem, that's not even two weeks away and everything's under control anyway.
It was carefully planned, according to the statement issued late on Thursday.
I like the column by Alistair Osborne in the Daily Telegraph on the subject:
"Why we must consider Dubai's 'careful planning' a work of pure genius
Let's be generous here. Maybe Dubai was just trying to set another record.
It's already given us the biggest building, biggest indoor ski slope, biggest shopping mall and biggest theme park. Surely, it was only a matter of time before it went for another biggie: the biggest debt-market cock-up.
The Wall Street journal says:
"For Dubai to now claim it had anticipated the market reaction to its "sensible business decision" is preposterous. Dubai stands accused of irresponsibility, incompetence and bad faith. Few will trust now anything it says."
So, a PR disaster of the highest magnitude. Unbelievably badly handled. I can't imagine what they were thinking, it shows a complete unawareness of the real business world.
It's astonishing from a city that owes its very existence to commerce. A city that's been a successful trading, commercial centre from its beginnings. Where business is the culture.
It really should, and probably will, be required study at business schools.
But it won't be the end of Dubai, in spite of what some commentators will now be saying. We've already seen some of that, plus highly critical pieces using the announcement as an excuse to come back into print, such as the latest Johann Hari piece in The Independent.
The sky won't fall in. The desert won't reclaim the city. It won't be a ghost town.
Think of it terms we've grown accustomed to over the past year. Think of it as toxic debt. It's separate from the real economy. It's like the financial markets and the real economy, they're very different from each other.
This is about the ability of one company in particular, and associated companies, to repay its loans.
Dubai has two sectors, the most important is the real economy where tens of thousands of generally SMEs are still trading, still doing profitable business. Dubai Chamber of Commerce has over 100,000 members for example, and Jebel Ali Free Zone alone has over 6,000 companies registered there.
Other large government-related companies such as Emirates Airline, Dubal, Ducab, Dubai International Airport, Dubai Duty Free are all producing excellent profits.
And of course the old established merchant family conglomerates are still going strong - Al Ghurair, Al Futtaim, Al Majid, Al Habtoor, Galadari and the others.
So business goes on much as usual in the real world. It's always been there, trundling along quietly and profitably out of the news. Dubai's history since the early eighteen-hundreds has been about being commercially successful and going on into the future that will continue.
The other sector is the fantasy world of unsustainable development. But that was a blip in the grand scheme of things for the last five or six years, for other parts of the world too, not just for Dubai - although Dubai's was more outrageous, more unsustainable than probably anywhere. That's what's dead, the fantasy world, the parallel universe, to which Nakheel was the worst contributor.
I said earlier that Dubai's culture was business, which is what I've long argued with people who've said there's no culture. People are here to work, to do business, and always have been. It's the focus of just about everyone here and it's the reason for the city's existence.
But another part of the culture is 'I must have it now' and that's been a large part of the problem. Wanting to build a city the size of Singapore in a decade.
What's actually been achieved is amazing but Nakheel in particular went far too far in too many grandiose developments at the same time. Reality went out of the window and they were off in the land of the fairies. Reality always reappears as it has now.
It's a pity the old established merchant families weren't in charge. In fact it seems with the recent sackings and sideways transfers of some big-name rising stars that the old guard is being brought in to get things back onto a more sensible level.
A huge PR disaster, damage to Dubai's reputation, damage that will take some time to repair, and a setback for Dubai's growth. But not its collapse.
You can read some of the international press I've quoted from here:
The Times.
Daily Telegraph.
Wall Street Journal.
Sunday, November 15, 2009
A different pace Pt. 2
Construction grinds along very slowly in Australia.
Nearly three weeks ago I posted about the snail pace progress on minor work in front of our house. My friend and neightbour sent me some photographs taken on October 28 showing the work the council contractor was doing in front of our three houses - they do very small stretches at a time.
What they're doing is putting in kerbs, guttering, a footpath and resurfacing the road.
The stretch in front of our three houses was going to be finished 'in about a week'.
Today my friend sent a photograph of the Aussie workers slaving away trying to get the work finished:
He tells me they've managed, since the first photo nineteen days ago, to get the kerb and guttering laid the length of the three houses and to lay the first coat for sealing the road.
They still haven't started the footpath and they also have to build retaining walls and re-landscape the banks which they destroyed, and also replace our driveways which they dug up.
With the progress they're making I agree with my pal: "With less than six weeks until Christmas, we are wondering if this project will be completed by then."
Nearly three weeks ago I posted about the snail pace progress on minor work in front of our house. My friend and neightbour sent me some photographs taken on October 28 showing the work the council contractor was doing in front of our three houses - they do very small stretches at a time.
What they're doing is putting in kerbs, guttering, a footpath and resurfacing the road.
The stretch in front of our three houses was going to be finished 'in about a week'.
Today my friend sent a photograph of the Aussie workers slaving away trying to get the work finished:
He tells me they've managed, since the first photo nineteen days ago, to get the kerb and guttering laid the length of the three houses and to lay the first coat for sealing the road.
They still haven't started the footpath and they also have to build retaining walls and re-landscape the banks which they destroyed, and also replace our driveways which they dug up.
With the progress they're making I agree with my pal: "With less than six weeks until Christmas, we are wondering if this project will be completed by then."
Monday, November 02, 2009
A different pace
Back in Oz, like many other places I'm sure, we complain endlessly about the time it takes our local councils to get things done.
The slowness is even more marked when you're used to the speed of things here, where whole cities get built in three or four years.
Our neighbour has just sent us some photos of work going on to upgrade our street.
The street is more like a country lane, with grassy banks either side, has less than fifty houses each side and is about a kilometre long.
Seven years ago the council started to upgrade it with kerbs and drainage and a footpath.
Seven years ago.
We're five houses from the top and they've just reached us. You can see what's been done at the lower section, between the two cars.
They're now doing the stretch in front of our house, across three houses, which they'll have finished in about a week.
A week.
We had a cemented-in rockery full of plants on the bank in front of our house. Yesterday it looked like this:
The slowness is even more marked when you're used to the speed of things here, where whole cities get built in three or four years.
Our neighbour has just sent us some photos of work going on to upgrade our street.
The street is more like a country lane, with grassy banks either side, has less than fifty houses each side and is about a kilometre long.
Seven years ago the council started to upgrade it with kerbs and drainage and a footpath.
Seven years ago.
We're five houses from the top and they've just reached us. You can see what's been done at the lower section, between the two cars.
They're now doing the stretch in front of our house, across three houses, which they'll have finished in about a week.
A week.
We had a cemented-in rockery full of plants on the bank in front of our house. Yesterday it looked like this:
And although we had no say in whether it was done or what should be done, we have to pay half the cost. A$40 per metre for kerbing and A$37 per sq. metre for the footpath.
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Friendly efficient government service
That heading related to dealing with government departments anywhere in the world sounds like an oxymoron.
But it's what I've experienced this very morning.
In Dubai.
*Gasp*
I had a message on my mobile the other day reminding me that my e-gate card needed renewing.
Thumbs up for that.
This morning I went to the DNATA building on Sheikh Zayed Road to renew it, expecting to be gone some time.
No queue so I was beckoned immediately to the desk by a friendly smiling Emirati lady. I gave her my existing e-gate card and passport. She did a few seconds on the computer, asked me to read the screen to check that my name was correct, asked if I'd like a new photo (I declined), then she printed a document and gave me clear instructions of where to take it to pay.
I went downstairs, paid the money, went back to the e-gate section and handed over my receipt.
The lady handed me my passport and new e-gate card, I said "shukrun" she smiled and said "goodbye".
It didn't take much longer than it's taken me to type this.
Another thumbs up.
And by the way, if you live here and you don't have an e-gate card, do go and get one.
You avoid the queues at airport immigration and get in and out instantly.
You simply go to the e-gates, tap your card to open the entry gate, put your index finger on the pad for it to read your fingerprint, the exit gate opens and that's it, you're through.
But it's what I've experienced this very morning.
In Dubai.
*Gasp*
I had a message on my mobile the other day reminding me that my e-gate card needed renewing.
Thumbs up for that.
This morning I went to the DNATA building on Sheikh Zayed Road to renew it, expecting to be gone some time.
No queue so I was beckoned immediately to the desk by a friendly smiling Emirati lady. I gave her my existing e-gate card and passport. She did a few seconds on the computer, asked me to read the screen to check that my name was correct, asked if I'd like a new photo (I declined), then she printed a document and gave me clear instructions of where to take it to pay.
I went downstairs, paid the money, went back to the e-gate section and handed over my receipt.
The lady handed me my passport and new e-gate card, I said "shukrun" she smiled and said "goodbye".
It didn't take much longer than it's taken me to type this.
Another thumbs up.
And by the way, if you live here and you don't have an e-gate card, do go and get one.
You avoid the queues at airport immigration and get in and out instantly.
You simply go to the e-gates, tap your card to open the entry gate, put your index finger on the pad for it to read your fingerprint, the exit gate opens and that's it, you're through.
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
Longer holiday for public sector
The papers are all carrying WAM's report on the upcoming Eid holiday.
Once again workers in the public sector get a longer holiday than those in the private sector. Fifty percent longer.
On the one hand we have government pushing Emiratis to join the private sector, on the other they offer better conditions in the public sector.
Hardly a co-ordinated strategy I would say.
Once again workers in the public sector get a longer holiday than those in the private sector. Fifty percent longer.
On the one hand we have government pushing Emiratis to join the private sector, on the other they offer better conditions in the public sector.
Hardly a co-ordinated strategy I would say.
Sunday, June 21, 2009
Checking the checker.
I was going through the stats on today's visitors to this blog and came upon a new and interesting one.
Here's a copy & paste of it:
Referrer http://dubai.dubizzle.com/blog/community-blog/pr-office-for-brand-dubai/
IP Address 91.75.44.196 [Label IP Address]
Country United Arab Emirates
Region Dubai
City Dubai
ISP The Executive Council - Government Of Dubai
So someone at Dubai's Executive Council is reading the UAE Community Blog at Dubizzle and coming from there to individual posts which obviously interest them.
Here's where they went on this blog:
Navigation Path
21st June 2009
14:39:06
Page View
dubai.dubizzle.com/blog/community-blog/pr-office-for-brand-dubai/www.dubaithoughts.blogspot.com/
21st June 2009
14:39:47
Page View
www.dubaithoughts.blogspot.com/dubaithoughts.blogspot.com/2009/06/sallys-out.html
21st June 2009
14:40:03
Page View
dubaithoughts.blogspot.com/2009/06/sallys-out.htmldubaithoughts.blogspot.com/2009/06/two-months-for-sally-mark.html
21st June 2009
14:40:36
Exit Link
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article6516504.ece
21st June 2009
14:42:33
Page View
dubaithoughts.blogspot.com/2009/06/sallys-out.htmldubaithoughts.blogspot.com/2009/06/two-months-for-sally-mark.html
21st June 2009
14:43:19
Exit Link
http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/2461336/Husband-who-got-wife-jailed-in-Dubai-says-they-are-friends.html
21st June 2009
14:44:10
Exit Link
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldnews/article-1190249/British-mother-Sally-Antia-lover-Mark-Hawkins-jailed-months-adultery-Dubai.html
21st June 2009
14:44:23
Page View
dubaithoughts.blogspot.com/2009/06/sallys-out.htmldubaithoughts.blogspot.com/2009/06/two-months-for-sally-mark.html
21st June 2009
14:46:26
Page View
dubaithoughts.blogspot.com/2009/06/sallys-out.htmldubaithoughts.blogspot.com/2009/06/story-of-ebony-ivory.html
21st June 2009
14:47:44
Page View
dubaithoughts.blogspot.com/2009/06/story-of-ebony-ivory.htmldubaithoughts.blogspot.com/search/label/Dubai%20expensive%3F
To summarise, they spent nearly nine minutes reading the posts about the new Brand Dubai Media Affairs Office, the Sally Antia story (that's the British mother jailed after her husband dobbed her in to the police for having an affair, including going to the links I gave to UK newspaper stories), the Ebony & Ivory Towers story, in which investors claimed they were mislead by phony photos.
And then they clicked on my label 'Dubai expensive?'
I don't know about you but I think that's encouraging.
It doesn't seem to be someone idling away time at the office by surfing the net because they selected particular posts. From their choice of reading matter it seems to be someone looking for information, for feedback, in areas they're involved with.
Since blogging started, surprisingly not all that long ago, I've thought that blogs which are mainly about news, and are of the op-ed type, give a good idea of the view from the street. An indication of what people are thinking about and what their thoughts are. That includes not only the posts themselves but also the comments left on them.
The UAE Community Blog has quite a few in that category with a range of views on most subjects, so reading them isn't a bad way for an organisation to do some simple desk research.
One of the many advantages of the internet is that it's made it much easier to check on public opinion.
There was an interesting article in the 'Financial Times' the other day on the subject. It was mainly about commercial organisations and how they can use the internet, and especially social networking sites, to their advantage - although most don't.
But the same applies to government departments, particularly as we hear more and more about governments being out of touch with the people. They can, and should, use the net to find out what people are talking about, what concerns we have, what our opinions are.
I think that's what this person from the Dubai Executive Council was doing and I'm all for it.
I'd be interested to know from other UAE bloggers who've had visits from them which stories they were reading. In the to-and-fro flow of information it gives us an indication of what they're particularly concerned about.
The 'Financial Times' article is well worth reading and you can find it here.
Here's a copy & paste of it:
Referrer http://dubai.dubizzle.com/blog/community-blog/pr-office-for-brand-dubai/
IP Address 91.75.44.196 [Label IP Address]
Country United Arab Emirates
Region Dubai
City Dubai
ISP The Executive Council - Government Of Dubai
So someone at Dubai's Executive Council is reading the UAE Community Blog at Dubizzle and coming from there to individual posts which obviously interest them.
Here's where they went on this blog:
Navigation Path
21st June 2009
14:39:06
Page View
dubai.dubizzle.com/blog/community-blog/pr-office-for-brand-dubai/www.dubaithoughts.blogspot.com/
21st June 2009
14:39:47
Page View
www.dubaithoughts.blogspot.com/dubaithoughts.blogspot.com/2009/06/sallys-out.html
21st June 2009
14:40:03
Page View
dubaithoughts.blogspot.com/2009/06/sallys-out.htmldubaithoughts.blogspot.com/2009/06/two-months-for-sally-mark.html
21st June 2009
14:40:36
Exit Link
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article6516504.ece
21st June 2009
14:42:33
Page View
dubaithoughts.blogspot.com/2009/06/sallys-out.htmldubaithoughts.blogspot.com/2009/06/two-months-for-sally-mark.html
21st June 2009
14:43:19
Exit Link
http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/2461336/Husband-who-got-wife-jailed-in-Dubai-says-they-are-friends.html
21st June 2009
14:44:10
Exit Link
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldnews/article-1190249/British-mother-Sally-Antia-lover-Mark-Hawkins-jailed-months-adultery-Dubai.html
21st June 2009
14:44:23
Page View
dubaithoughts.blogspot.com/2009/06/sallys-out.htmldubaithoughts.blogspot.com/2009/06/two-months-for-sally-mark.html
21st June 2009
14:46:26
Page View
dubaithoughts.blogspot.com/2009/06/sallys-out.htmldubaithoughts.blogspot.com/2009/06/story-of-ebony-ivory.html
21st June 2009
14:47:44
Page View
dubaithoughts.blogspot.com/2009/06/story-of-ebony-ivory.htmldubaithoughts.blogspot.com/search/label/Dubai%20expensive%3F
To summarise, they spent nearly nine minutes reading the posts about the new Brand Dubai Media Affairs Office, the Sally Antia story (that's the British mother jailed after her husband dobbed her in to the police for having an affair, including going to the links I gave to UK newspaper stories), the Ebony & Ivory Towers story, in which investors claimed they were mislead by phony photos.
And then they clicked on my label 'Dubai expensive?'
I don't know about you but I think that's encouraging.
It doesn't seem to be someone idling away time at the office by surfing the net because they selected particular posts. From their choice of reading matter it seems to be someone looking for information, for feedback, in areas they're involved with.
Since blogging started, surprisingly not all that long ago, I've thought that blogs which are mainly about news, and are of the op-ed type, give a good idea of the view from the street. An indication of what people are thinking about and what their thoughts are. That includes not only the posts themselves but also the comments left on them.
The UAE Community Blog has quite a few in that category with a range of views on most subjects, so reading them isn't a bad way for an organisation to do some simple desk research.
One of the many advantages of the internet is that it's made it much easier to check on public opinion.
There was an interesting article in the 'Financial Times' the other day on the subject. It was mainly about commercial organisations and how they can use the internet, and especially social networking sites, to their advantage - although most don't.
But the same applies to government departments, particularly as we hear more and more about governments being out of touch with the people. They can, and should, use the net to find out what people are talking about, what concerns we have, what our opinions are.
I think that's what this person from the Dubai Executive Council was doing and I'm all for it.
I'd be interested to know from other UAE bloggers who've had visits from them which stories they were reading. In the to-and-fro flow of information it gives us an indication of what they're particularly concerned about.
The 'Financial Times' article is well worth reading and you can find it here.
Monday, June 08, 2009
Ebony & ivory
Gulf News today ran a press release from Al Fajer Properties saying that all its projects are on schedule.
They say they voluntarily asked for a construction audit to be carried out by a RERA-approved independent party.
Sounds boring I know, but stay with me.
The press release includes the information:
The results confirm that work on Phase 1 has neared 80 per cent completion and 15 per cent of construction has been completed on Phase 2 (including the Ebony and Ivory Towers) with work continuing.
That reference to Phase 2 is the important bit.
A week ago the UK newspaper The Independent ran an article headlined "Dubai property scandal claim emerges amid media blackout"
It's full of sensational accusations.
It claims that customers were misled into paying millions of dollars by the use of fake photographs, which showed construction of three buildings, purported to be Ebony 1, Ivory 1 and Ivory 2, up to the sixth storey. It says that the photographs were in fact of buildings on neighbouring plots and the three towers are actually empty holes in the ground.
It goes on to say that angry investors were in the city, they had alerted local and regional media and a press conference had been arranged. But it says the press conference was cancelled on a pretext, that there was a media blackout ordered by the authorities, that government officials ordered news agencies to 'pull' stories which were appearing on websites.
To add even more spice they include 'links to the ruling family of the UAE city-state' a couple of times in the article. The President of Al Fajer Properties is Sheikh Maktoum Bin Hasher Al Maktoum.
Now the PR battle is on.
Without, of course, any reference to the accusations, the company says the independent and approved auditors confirm that 15 per cent of this project's construction has been completed and work is continuing.
They say that The audit affirms that Al Fajer Properties have attained the highest level of transparency and is in full compliance with all Rera rules and regulations.
They also say that progress on the project will be available on the Rera website shortly.
I think this is a pretty good example of how a company should react in the face of such accusations.
Compare it with the usual principle used here of ignore it and it'll go away. Atlantis and the whale shark are a classic of the usual method.
Accusations have been made which the company faces head on. They enlist offical help in the shape of RERA, use independent and approved auditors, link in with the official RERA website.
Then they issue a well constructed press release covering all the points and including lots of positive comments. They also use it to not only align themselves with RERA but to remind us of the professional standing of RERA.
The ball is now firmly back in the court of the investors and The Independent.
It'll be an interesting story to follow.
What this PR doesn't do is answer the accusations of government interference, of media blackouts, of pulled stories. Nor should they, it's not a company's responsibility to answer those accusations, but I'd like that side of it to see the light of day.
If you'd like to start at the beginning, The Independent has the story by 'Heerkani Chohan', "the pseudonym of a journalist living and working in Dubai". That story is here.
Al Fajer's answer to the accusations is here in Gulf News.
They say they voluntarily asked for a construction audit to be carried out by a RERA-approved independent party.
Sounds boring I know, but stay with me.
The press release includes the information:
The results confirm that work on Phase 1 has neared 80 per cent completion and 15 per cent of construction has been completed on Phase 2 (including the Ebony and Ivory Towers) with work continuing.
That reference to Phase 2 is the important bit.
A week ago the UK newspaper The Independent ran an article headlined "Dubai property scandal claim emerges amid media blackout"
It's full of sensational accusations.
It claims that customers were misled into paying millions of dollars by the use of fake photographs, which showed construction of three buildings, purported to be Ebony 1, Ivory 1 and Ivory 2, up to the sixth storey. It says that the photographs were in fact of buildings on neighbouring plots and the three towers are actually empty holes in the ground.
It goes on to say that angry investors were in the city, they had alerted local and regional media and a press conference had been arranged. But it says the press conference was cancelled on a pretext, that there was a media blackout ordered by the authorities, that government officials ordered news agencies to 'pull' stories which were appearing on websites.
To add even more spice they include 'links to the ruling family of the UAE city-state' a couple of times in the article. The President of Al Fajer Properties is Sheikh Maktoum Bin Hasher Al Maktoum.
Now the PR battle is on.
Without, of course, any reference to the accusations, the company says the independent and approved auditors confirm that 15 per cent of this project's construction has been completed and work is continuing.
They say that The audit affirms that Al Fajer Properties have attained the highest level of transparency and is in full compliance with all Rera rules and regulations.
They also say that progress on the project will be available on the Rera website shortly.
I think this is a pretty good example of how a company should react in the face of such accusations.
Compare it with the usual principle used here of ignore it and it'll go away. Atlantis and the whale shark are a classic of the usual method.
Accusations have been made which the company faces head on. They enlist offical help in the shape of RERA, use independent and approved auditors, link in with the official RERA website.
Then they issue a well constructed press release covering all the points and including lots of positive comments. They also use it to not only align themselves with RERA but to remind us of the professional standing of RERA.
The ball is now firmly back in the court of the investors and The Independent.
It'll be an interesting story to follow.
What this PR doesn't do is answer the accusations of government interference, of media blackouts, of pulled stories. Nor should they, it's not a company's responsibility to answer those accusations, but I'd like that side of it to see the light of day.
If you'd like to start at the beginning, The Independent has the story by 'Heerkani Chohan', "the pseudonym of a journalist living and working in Dubai". That story is here.
Al Fajer's answer to the accusations is here in Gulf News.
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
Same story, very different slant
I read two papers over coffee this morning, both of which carried the same story.
But what a difference in presentation.
The story is, in my opinion, the biggest of the day, of massive importance. It's no less than the replacement of the Director General of Dubai's Department of Finance.
GN only had it as the second lead, treating the arrival of FlyDubai's first aircraft as more important.
I've since looked at EmBiz247 and they do no more than run the WAM basic facts, buried on Page 4. I can't find it at all in Khaleej Times online.
The story I think is of massive importance is the change of Director General at the Dubai Department of Finance.
That's a hugely important position, especially in the current economic situation, one of the most important in the emirate in my opinion.
The way the two papers have treated it is interesting, to say the least.
Gulf News headline the story: "Mohammed makes appointment to key government offices" and they quote the new DG.
The Middle East edition of the Financial Times headline their report: "Dubai demotes finance director." They give it more space and include relevant comment.
The previous DG was Nasser Al Shaikh who's been moved to become Deputy Director of Foreign Affairs at the Dubai Ruler's Court.
Naturally no reason was given for the decision.
In the FT, Simeon Kerr suggests that the decision to remove Mr Al Shaikh "will prompt concern among the region’s business elite and the bankers helping to steer Dubai out of the current downturn.
The highly regarded young official, who joined the department of finance only last year, was seen as one of the few who had grasped the scope of the economic problems facing Dubai.
Mr Shaikh had been championing a more transparent approach to the emirate’s finances as a means to help restore the city’s credibility. He oversaw publication of the emirate’s most detailed ever budget in January and was leading efforts to launch a sovereign rating for Dubai."
From all I've read and heard I have to agree. My perception was that he was doing an excellent job, under very difficult circumstances.
Boy, I'd love to know what the real story behind it is.
You can compare the way the two papers have slanted the story here:
Gulf News.
Financial Times.
But what a difference in presentation.
The story is, in my opinion, the biggest of the day, of massive importance. It's no less than the replacement of the Director General of Dubai's Department of Finance.
GN only had it as the second lead, treating the arrival of FlyDubai's first aircraft as more important.
I've since looked at EmBiz247 and they do no more than run the WAM basic facts, buried on Page 4. I can't find it at all in Khaleej Times online.
The story I think is of massive importance is the change of Director General at the Dubai Department of Finance.
That's a hugely important position, especially in the current economic situation, one of the most important in the emirate in my opinion.
The way the two papers have treated it is interesting, to say the least.
Gulf News headline the story: "Mohammed makes appointment to key government offices" and they quote the new DG.
The Middle East edition of the Financial Times headline their report: "Dubai demotes finance director." They give it more space and include relevant comment.
The previous DG was Nasser Al Shaikh who's been moved to become Deputy Director of Foreign Affairs at the Dubai Ruler's Court.
Naturally no reason was given for the decision.
In the FT, Simeon Kerr suggests that the decision to remove Mr Al Shaikh "will prompt concern among the region’s business elite and the bankers helping to steer Dubai out of the current downturn.
The highly regarded young official, who joined the department of finance only last year, was seen as one of the few who had grasped the scope of the economic problems facing Dubai.
Mr Shaikh had been championing a more transparent approach to the emirate’s finances as a means to help restore the city’s credibility. He oversaw publication of the emirate’s most detailed ever budget in January and was leading efforts to launch a sovereign rating for Dubai."
From all I've read and heard I have to agree. My perception was that he was doing an excellent job, under very difficult circumstances.
Boy, I'd love to know what the real story behind it is.
You can compare the way the two papers have slanted the story here:
Gulf News.
Financial Times.
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
Official government spokespeople
It's been announced that all government ministries and departments will have official spokespeople to 'ease access to information for journalists'.
The idea's good but as usual the success or otherwise will depend on the people involved and the way it's implemented.
There's long been a problem that we get information from an 'official' one day only for it to be contradicted by another 'official' the next. A classic has been the ID fiasco, with a whole raft of different announcements being made over a period of weeks, causing utter confusion.
This new move could solve that problem, but only if the spokespeople are given the full facts in the first place and if they explain them in clear unambiguous language. There's also an onus on journalists to know the questions to ask, and be willing to ask them, to get absolutely clear information. That hasn't been the case so far so I'm not hopeful.
Still, it's a move in the right direction.
The idea's good but as usual the success or otherwise will depend on the people involved and the way it's implemented.
There's long been a problem that we get information from an 'official' one day only for it to be contradicted by another 'official' the next. A classic has been the ID fiasco, with a whole raft of different announcements being made over a period of weeks, causing utter confusion.
This new move could solve that problem, but only if the spokespeople are given the full facts in the first place and if they explain them in clear unambiguous language. There's also an onus on journalists to know the questions to ask, and be willing to ask them, to get absolutely clear information. That hasn't been the case so far so I'm not hopeful.
Still, it's a move in the right direction.
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
Telling it like it is...
...or not.
There are what I think are some great quotes in a story in Gulf news today from Mr Ali Al Shihabi, who is CEO of Rasmala Investments.
They're a bit of a diversion but they do they actually lead me in to what I was originally going to post about, which is poor communication.
I'll start with some of Mr Shihabi's pearls of wisdom.
Communication, unfortunately, is still a weak skill among business, political and economic leaders in the GCC. They have to understand the importance of communication.
The traditional Middle Eastern approach of pretending that everything is fine, when the rest of the world is not, is counter- productive.
He goes on to make another valid and important observation:
Enough of the largest, biggest island the size of Manhattan or Hong Kong and underwater hotels.
That kind of hype is unnecessary because Dubai is a serious business model and by continuing that hype, you've brushed a very serious sector with the Disneyland or Hollywood brush.
This gives the wrong image. It tells the world that these are rich people spending their money and they don't know how to spend it.
Absolutely spot on. Particularly now when the world's financial system is collapsing. As Mr Shihabi says, it scares investors who will be frightened off instead of being attracted.
The world must surely be suffering from Dubai-biggest fatigue by now.
But back to the communication thing.
I was prompted to comment when I heard the presenters on Dubai Eye this morning talking about clarifying something by getting an official on the show.
They've done it before, as has the rest of the media, but getting the official line never clarifies anything. An added problem is the deference of the interviewers, who won't ask for clear answers and simply accept whatever is said.
An official is usually asked to clarify because we, the public, are running into problems with something.
What happens is that the official rambles on in officialese. In amongst it you may get either that there are no problems and never were or there were problems but they're now fixed.
I hasten to add that this is not a problem unique to Dubai, it happens all over the world. I've posted about some of it before, for example here.
You remember the fiasco when the Salik road toll was introduced? Thousands of motorists couldn't find forms anywhere, the website wasn't anywhere near ready...yet we were assured there were plenty of forms everywhere and there was nothing wrong with the website.
There's still a problem with it. I've had payment top-up problems, and Alexander over at Fake Plastic Souks recently posted about his problems with topping up his Salik account.
The latest of course is the ID Card fiasco.
A few short weeks ago we had an announcement that expatriate professionals, identified as white collar workers and specifically university degree holders, have to register by year end.
Panic.
Officials insist that everyone knew months ago about the deadline because they publicised it extensively. Thousands of us saw no earlier information.
In spite of officials 'clarifying' the situation we still don't know exactly who must register by December 31. For example, what about non degree-holders who are professional white collar workers? Housewives?
We're told that the few offices can cope with the numbers by the deadline , but simple mathematics shows they can't get anywhere near it.
The website was nowhere near ready when the announcement was made and couldn't cope with the traffic. When we did get into it the bar code form wouldn't print for many people. For many more the information they entered was changed arbitrarily by the website.
And there were many more problems with the site. A comment left on one of my postings about it: having the same problem with printing the bar codes. And guess what... you HAVE to enter an occupation. So now my 3 year old son is classified as a sales and marketing professional
Officials have told us there was a problem with bandwidth but that's all fixed and the website is now running perfectly...except maybe a bar code problem or two.
In reality there are still problems with the site.
As for the rest of it, there is no problem. Fill out the form, make an appointment, take your pasport and, bingo, you've registered. There may be a short wait.
Today I received an e-mail with some stories from the real world, which I'd like to share with you.
A colleague arrived at the Al Barsha registration centre at 6:10am this morning… there were already over 350 people waiting outside, many of them sleeping on the floor. It looked like a scene from a refugee camp. He turned around and left again.
Our PRO went to the Karama registration centre this morning, at 5:20am (!)… there was already a queue of over 1,000 people. At around 7am, an official started handing out small bits of paper, asking people to fill in their name, mobile number and occupation. When the gates finally opened, many streamed to the one and only appointment-machine in the centre, to try to obtain an appointment to register for their card. Our PRO was among the first, and laughed when he was given "next available appointment: April 2009"
In the other queue, an Emirates ID employee sat at a desk, collected the bits of paper from everyone waiting, and sent them away (?!), saying "we will call you and give appointment".
See, as the officials are telling us, there is no problem, everything is working well and we'll all be able to register easily by the deadline.
As Mr Shihabi said The traditional Middle Eastern approach of pretending that everything is fine...is counter-productive.
The things which are wrong cannot be fixed if the people in charge deny anything is wrong.
By the way, Mr Shihabi's excellent observations are well worth reading and they're here.
There are what I think are some great quotes in a story in Gulf news today from Mr Ali Al Shihabi, who is CEO of Rasmala Investments.
They're a bit of a diversion but they do they actually lead me in to what I was originally going to post about, which is poor communication.
I'll start with some of Mr Shihabi's pearls of wisdom.
Communication, unfortunately, is still a weak skill among business, political and economic leaders in the GCC. They have to understand the importance of communication.
The traditional Middle Eastern approach of pretending that everything is fine, when the rest of the world is not, is counter- productive.
He goes on to make another valid and important observation:
Enough of the largest, biggest island the size of Manhattan or Hong Kong and underwater hotels.
That kind of hype is unnecessary because Dubai is a serious business model and by continuing that hype, you've brushed a very serious sector with the Disneyland or Hollywood brush.
This gives the wrong image. It tells the world that these are rich people spending their money and they don't know how to spend it.
Absolutely spot on. Particularly now when the world's financial system is collapsing. As Mr Shihabi says, it scares investors who will be frightened off instead of being attracted.
The world must surely be suffering from Dubai-biggest fatigue by now.
But back to the communication thing.
I was prompted to comment when I heard the presenters on Dubai Eye this morning talking about clarifying something by getting an official on the show.
They've done it before, as has the rest of the media, but getting the official line never clarifies anything. An added problem is the deference of the interviewers, who won't ask for clear answers and simply accept whatever is said.
An official is usually asked to clarify because we, the public, are running into problems with something.
What happens is that the official rambles on in officialese. In amongst it you may get either that there are no problems and never were or there were problems but they're now fixed.
I hasten to add that this is not a problem unique to Dubai, it happens all over the world. I've posted about some of it before, for example here.
You remember the fiasco when the Salik road toll was introduced? Thousands of motorists couldn't find forms anywhere, the website wasn't anywhere near ready...yet we were assured there were plenty of forms everywhere and there was nothing wrong with the website.
There's still a problem with it. I've had payment top-up problems, and Alexander over at Fake Plastic Souks recently posted about his problems with topping up his Salik account.
The latest of course is the ID Card fiasco.
A few short weeks ago we had an announcement that expatriate professionals, identified as white collar workers and specifically university degree holders, have to register by year end.
Panic.
Officials insist that everyone knew months ago about the deadline because they publicised it extensively. Thousands of us saw no earlier information.
In spite of officials 'clarifying' the situation we still don't know exactly who must register by December 31. For example, what about non degree-holders who are professional white collar workers? Housewives?
We're told that the few offices can cope with the numbers by the deadline , but simple mathematics shows they can't get anywhere near it.
The website was nowhere near ready when the announcement was made and couldn't cope with the traffic. When we did get into it the bar code form wouldn't print for many people. For many more the information they entered was changed arbitrarily by the website.
And there were many more problems with the site. A comment left on one of my postings about it: having the same problem with printing the bar codes. And guess what... you HAVE to enter an occupation. So now my 3 year old son is classified as a sales and marketing professional
Officials have told us there was a problem with bandwidth but that's all fixed and the website is now running perfectly...except maybe a bar code problem or two.
In reality there are still problems with the site.
As for the rest of it, there is no problem. Fill out the form, make an appointment, take your pasport and, bingo, you've registered. There may be a short wait.
Today I received an e-mail with some stories from the real world, which I'd like to share with you.
A colleague arrived at the Al Barsha registration centre at 6:10am this morning… there were already over 350 people waiting outside, many of them sleeping on the floor. It looked like a scene from a refugee camp. He turned around and left again.
Our PRO went to the Karama registration centre this morning, at 5:20am (!)… there was already a queue of over 1,000 people. At around 7am, an official started handing out small bits of paper, asking people to fill in their name, mobile number and occupation. When the gates finally opened, many streamed to the one and only appointment-machine in the centre, to try to obtain an appointment to register for their card. Our PRO was among the first, and laughed when he was given "next available appointment: April 2009"
In the other queue, an Emirates ID employee sat at a desk, collected the bits of paper from everyone waiting, and sent them away (?!), saying "we will call you and give appointment".
See, as the officials are telling us, there is no problem, everything is working well and we'll all be able to register easily by the deadline.
As Mr Shihabi said The traditional Middle Eastern approach of pretending that everything is fine...is counter-productive.
The things which are wrong cannot be fixed if the people in charge deny anything is wrong.
By the way, Mr Shihabi's excellent observations are well worth reading and they're here.
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
Two week campaign against dangerous driving.
I don't know whether something's been lost in translation, but another 'initiative' from Dubai police raises questions.
Gulf News reports that "...the two-week campaign focuses on three dangerous offences which include reckless driving and what accompanies it from speeding, leaving enough distance between vehicles and zigzag driving.
And it's going to be "on the stretch of Shaikh Zayed Road from the Trade Centre Roundabout to the Mall of the Emirates."
Two week campaign?
This is the type of driving that kills and injures so many people.
Shouldn't it be an ongoing, fifty-two weeks a year, twenty-four hours a day campaign?
And why on just one tiny stretch of road?
But it will be extended. "After completing the campaign on Shaikh Zayed Road, it will move to other highways and external roads and will continue until there is a positive reaction and commitment from the motorists."
I simply don't get it.
A two week campaign on a small stretch of road, to be extended later.
If we're ever to get our horrendous accident and death rate down we need more traffic police out on the roads, all the roads, all the time. Starting now.
The full report is here.
Then onto another hot topic around town.
Another Gulf News report tells us that As the deadline for tenants in overcrowded villas draws nearer, Dubai Municipality has clarified that people can share villas if they are related.
That seems to suggest a bit of backtracking by Dubai Municipality, that they've given a little more thought to their original all-encompasing directive. Or perhaps something was lost in translation when the original announcement was made.
The 'one villa one family' campaign is a misnomer apparently. Now "...the current inspections aimed at curbing the illegal sharing of villas is in line with 'Let us protect our residential environment...together', and not to implement a 'one villa one family' policy."
At least an official from DM has now said that the crackdown is against overcrowding, although they still haven't gone far enough and seem not to understand the concept of shared accommodation.
The official said: "If the members are in some way related, there is no problem if they share a villa but there should be no overcrowding."
No overcrowding, yes I agree with that. But sharers have to be related? Why?
I know, for example, two British couples, friends but not related, who share a three bedroom, three bathroom villa. For the same money they could each get a small studio apartment, so they prefer to share the villa with much more space and comfort.
Why shouldn't they?
And singles sharing a villa, each with their own room. Why should they not be allowed to share?
The new clarification is a step in the right direction but they need to go further. Stamp out overcrowding, yes. Stamp out sharing accommodation, no.
That story is here.
Gulf News reports that "...the two-week campaign focuses on three dangerous offences which include reckless driving and what accompanies it from speeding, leaving enough distance between vehicles and zigzag driving.
And it's going to be "on the stretch of Shaikh Zayed Road from the Trade Centre Roundabout to the Mall of the Emirates."
Two week campaign?
This is the type of driving that kills and injures so many people.
Shouldn't it be an ongoing, fifty-two weeks a year, twenty-four hours a day campaign?
And why on just one tiny stretch of road?
But it will be extended. "After completing the campaign on Shaikh Zayed Road, it will move to other highways and external roads and will continue until there is a positive reaction and commitment from the motorists."
I simply don't get it.
A two week campaign on a small stretch of road, to be extended later.
If we're ever to get our horrendous accident and death rate down we need more traffic police out on the roads, all the roads, all the time. Starting now.
The full report is here.
Then onto another hot topic around town.
Another Gulf News report tells us that As the deadline for tenants in overcrowded villas draws nearer, Dubai Municipality has clarified that people can share villas if they are related.
That seems to suggest a bit of backtracking by Dubai Municipality, that they've given a little more thought to their original all-encompasing directive. Or perhaps something was lost in translation when the original announcement was made.
The 'one villa one family' campaign is a misnomer apparently. Now "...the current inspections aimed at curbing the illegal sharing of villas is in line with 'Let us protect our residential environment...together', and not to implement a 'one villa one family' policy."
At least an official from DM has now said that the crackdown is against overcrowding, although they still haven't gone far enough and seem not to understand the concept of shared accommodation.
The official said: "If the members are in some way related, there is no problem if they share a villa but there should be no overcrowding."
No overcrowding, yes I agree with that. But sharers have to be related? Why?
I know, for example, two British couples, friends but not related, who share a three bedroom, three bathroom villa. For the same money they could each get a small studio apartment, so they prefer to share the villa with much more space and comfort.
Why shouldn't they?
And singles sharing a villa, each with their own room. Why should they not be allowed to share?
The new clarification is a step in the right direction but they need to go further. Stamp out overcrowding, yes. Stamp out sharing accommodation, no.
That story is here.
Monday, September 29, 2008
Government department efficiency.
Did i say that?!
I was talking a couple of weeks ago about what was involved in applying for my new Residence Visa.
To finish the story, I went back to the Iranian Hospital at just after 11.30am on Thursday as noted on the receipt they'd given me. Went to the counter called 'Reports' and in twenty seconds was walking out with my medical report.
I took it and my passport into my sponsor last Tuesday. Remember it's Ramadan with shorter working hours and the Eid holiday is upon us, so I assumed I'd get it back sometime after Eid.
Not so. I picked up the passport complete with new visa this morning.
Credit where credit's due, I thought the efficiency was worth noting.
I was talking a couple of weeks ago about what was involved in applying for my new Residence Visa.
To finish the story, I went back to the Iranian Hospital at just after 11.30am on Thursday as noted on the receipt they'd given me. Went to the counter called 'Reports' and in twenty seconds was walking out with my medical report.
I took it and my passport into my sponsor last Tuesday. Remember it's Ramadan with shorter working hours and the Eid holiday is upon us, so I assumed I'd get it back sometime after Eid.
Not so. I picked up the passport complete with new visa this morning.
Credit where credit's due, I thought the efficiency was worth noting.
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