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The Executive Council of Abu Dhabi gave the go ahead in a meeting of 17 April for what was described as a “new approach to government”.  It follows months of negotiations with senior officials aimed at reforming everything from healthcare and education to policing and the environment.

Each of the 26 government departments will make public their long term planning strategies over the next two months.  This includes numerous action plans for the next five years.  It is the latest in a series of 110 laws and 75 decrees passed since 2005 that pave the way for sweeping reforms.

Addressing a meeting of Heads of Departments attended by the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed, Mr. Mohammed Ahmad al Bowardi, Secretary General of the Executive Council, said the departments would adopt “the principle of accountability as a road map towards developing performance”.

“We will monitor delivery and, where necessary, we will intervene with support designed to ensure our government goals are achieved,” said Abdullah al Ahbabi, head of the Council’s performance management division.

The changes introduce the concept of key performance indicators to measure the quality of government services.  It is this approach to the serious side of governance that marks Abu Dhabi apart from its regional competitors, and one of the reasons that Emiratis here believe theirs will be the “best city in the world” by 2030.