Year of Zayed: remembering the vision of an innovative and inspirational leader
As the country prepares to mark the 100th anniversary of the birth of Sheikh Zayed, Peter Hellyer examines the hallmarks of the Founding Father's leadership style
A high point of the Year of Zayed is reached on Sunday as the country marks the 100th anniversary of the birth of the UAE's Founding Father on May 6. Fondly remembered, much loved, he remains ever-present in the minds of both UAE citizens and the millions of expatriates who have chosen to make their homes in the country that he did so much to create.
It’s now 13 years since Sheikh Zayed died. As he becomes a historical figure, it becomes increasingly difficult to distinguish between Zayed as a man and the leader who is now almost a matter of legend. That is particularly hard for the younger generation since few under the age of 25 will have any direct personal memories. Over the years, too, the country’s population has continued to grow at a rapid rate, with many of the expatriates who now live here having arrived since his passing.
It is easy to examine the country's modern infrastructure, from roads to ports and airports, from buildings to the enviable healthcare and educational systems, and to study the opportunities now on offer for the people of the UAE, both men and women, as well as the way in which they have grasped those opportunities. All of that has been built on the foundations that Sheikh Zayed and his fellow Rulers laid down. What is less easy to comprehend, at least for those without personal experience, is how he developed his vision for the country and from where he derived the determination to bring it to fruition. To achieve that insight, one must turn to his own words and to the comments made about him by those who witnessed him at work.
In an early biography, The Desert Falcon, written more than 40 years ago, Sheikh Zayed recalled how, long before he became Ruler of Abu Dhabi in 1966 and then UAE President in 1971, he had been deeply impressed by the schools and hospitals he had seen on his first visit to Europe in the early 1950s. He became determined that his own people should one day have the benefit of similar facilities.
”There were a lot of dreams I was dreaming about our land catching up with the modern world,” he said, “ but I was not able to do anything because I did not have the wherewithal in my hands to achieve these dreams. I was sure, however, that one day they would become true.”
From those dreams, he developed his vision – and, on becoming Ruler of Abu Dhabi and then President, the wherewithal became available. Of his first few weeks as Ruler, he noted, “All the picture was prepared. It was not a matter of fresh thinking, but of simply putting into effect the thoughts of years and years.”
Innovation is today, rightly, characterised as a key element of the modern UAE. It is easy, though, to forget that Sheikh Zayed was himself our innovator par excellence. The changes he introduced, the process of development that he led, represented a veritable revolution, covering the nature of government, the structure of settlement, opportunities for citizens and other residents and much more. Speaking during "Innovation Month" in February, one leading Abu Dhabi official commented that: "Today, the word 'disruption' is mainstream, and we hear it used across all industries and sectors. And the late Sheikh Zayed himself led this 'disruptive' trend because he himself was disruptive when he established the Union, and came from Al Ain to break the barriers and expand the frontiers of the economy."
The "disruption" initiated by Sheikh Zayed was a gentle process, pushed forward in a determined manner, yet with consultation and consent. “I am not imposing change on anyone,” he noted. “All of us have our opinions, and these opinions can change. Sometimes we put all opinions together, and then extract from them a single point of view. This is our democracy.”
Innovation, inspiration, vision and consent – these are all a part of the leadership provided by Sheikh Zayed and from which this country has benefited and will continue to benefit.
One foreign observer who saw the early years of Sheikh Zayed's rule at close hand was Archie Lamb, British Political Agent in Abu Dhabi from 1965-1968, in the years shortly before the formation of the UAE federation. In his dispatches to London, Lamb provided a description which goes some way towards giving an impression of the UAE's founding father: "The man who had the wind of heaven always blowing through his bisht (cloak)."
On Sheikh Zayed’s 100th birthday, that remains an apt epitaph.
Peter Hellyer is a consultant specialising in the UAE’s history and culture
A State of Passion
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Crystal Palace 1 Brighton & Hove Albion 2
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Leicester City 3 Fulham 1
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Sunday
Liverpool 4 Burnley 2
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Name: Kumulus Water
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Dubai works towards better air quality by 2021
Dubai is on a mission to record good air quality for 90 per cent of the year – up from 86 per cent annually today – by 2021.
The municipality plans to have seven mobile air-monitoring stations by 2020 to capture more accurate data in hourly and daily trends of pollution.
These will be on the Palm Jumeirah, Al Qusais, Muhaisnah, Rashidiyah, Al Wasl, Al Quoz and Dubai Investment Park.
“It will allow real-time responding for emergency cases,” said Khaldoon Al Daraji, first environment safety officer at the municipality.
“We’re in a good position except for the cases that are out of our hands, such as sandstorms.
“Sandstorms are our main concern because the UAE is just a receiver.
“The hotspots are Iran, Saudi Arabia and southern Iraq, but we’re working hard with the region to reduce the cycle of sandstorm generation.”
Mr Al Daraji said monitoring as it stood covered 47 per cent of Dubai.
There are 12 fixed stations in the emirate, but Dubai also receives information from monitors belonging to other entities.
“There are 25 stations in total,” Mr Al Daraji said.
“We added new technology and equipment used for the first time for the detection of heavy metals.
“A hundred parameters can be detected but we want to expand it to make sure that the data captured can allow a baseline study in some areas to ensure they are well positioned.”
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Our legal advisor
Ahmad El Sayed is Senior Associate at Charles Russell Speechlys, a law firm headquartered in London with offices in the UK, Europe, the Middle East and Hong Kong.
Experience: Commercial litigator who has assisted clients with overseas judgments before UAE courts. His specialties are cases related to banking, real estate, shareholder disputes, company liquidations and criminal matters as well as employment related litigation.
Education: Sagesse University, Beirut, Lebanon, in 2005.
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Bangla Tigers win by six wickets
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
