Sheikh Saud opens seminar on `Responsibility of Leadership in achieving Government Excellence'

Delivering his opening address, Sheikh Saud said that dedication to excellence is vital for achieving the nation's developmental goals and for enhancing government sector performance in the UAE. "We can carry forward the ongoing developmental drive taking place in the UAE only by renewing our commitment to achieving excellence in all our activities," he said.

Sheikh Saud noted that there should be strong cooperation between the local institutions and the federal government departments to achieve higher operational performance and to provide enhanced quality of service to the people.

H.E Sultan bin Saeed Al Mansouri, Minister of Governmental Sector Development, said that the seminar marks the first phase of cooperation between Sheikh Khalifa Government Excellence Programme and SSPGE for achieving the goals of both the organisations towards fostering excellence in the government sector.

He said that the programme would provide an opportunity to exchange ideas and share best practices towards instilling the culture of quality and excellence in the working of various government institutions.

Dr. Mohammed Abdul Latif, Director of the Sheikh Saqr Programme for Government Excellence, said that the seminar aimed to create awareness about the role of leadership in accelerating the drive towards achieving operational excellence in local government departments and federal institutions.

He added that SSPGE would announce the winners of the SSPGE annual awards to recognize outstanding performance in government sector in RAK in December 2007. "We are also planning to bring in an external agency for the evaluation of government sector performance in RAK by next September," he added.

The Sheikh Saqr Programme for Government Excellence has been implemented as part of the development strategy of H.H. Sheikh Saud for revitalizing the public sector of the emirate by creating a competitive environment wherein the government sector can improve efficiency and contribute towards the development of society in a bigger way.

Sheikh Faisal bin Saqr Al Qasimi, Chairman of RAK Finance Department and RAK Free Trade Zone, Sheikh Salem bin Sultan Al Qasimi, Chairman of RAK Civil Aviation and Sheikh Mohammed bin Kayed Al Qasimi, Vice Chairman of RAK Economic Development Department were present at the programme.

Dr. Ali bin Obood, Undersecretary at the Ministry of Governmental Sector Development and Dr Abdulrahim Al Jallad, quality management expert at the Ministry, made presentations at the seminar which was attended by heads of government departments and federal government institutions and other top officials.