ABU DHABI // "You see this area?" Obaid Al Zaabi asks driving along Khalifa bin Zayed Street. "In the front, you see it's clean. But when you go inside, you will see the difference."
The public health inspector looks for a place to park.
"I will show you," he says. During the next hour, he finds dirty walls, broken tiles, a hidden compartment where salon workers once slept and a cargo shop with a towering pile of boxes and rubbish.
Mr Al Zaabi, 36, from Abu Dhabi, roams the city each day in a crisp kandura, looking for unsanitary conditions in shops and salons and other offences, such as littering and public spitting.
"There are some, when they know we are here in the area, they close their shop and they run away," he says, laughing.
The municipality's 125 public health inspectors issued 23,823 fines in 2011, compared with 9,363 in 2010.
It is not that the city is dirtier, says Khaleefa Al Romaithi, the director of public health for the municipality, but that there are more eyes searching for problems. The department hired additional inspectors in 2011 and plans to hire more soon, he says.
A former stockbroker who joined the municipality after the market crashed, Mr Al Zaabi starts work most days at 7.30am. He walks through neighbourhoods, checks complaints from residents, reviews licence renewals for salons, laundries and other shops and pops by to surprise store owners.
Even when he is off duty, he watches for offences, he says. "I see something wrong, I stop and write it up."
After one year in the job, he has learned to treat offenders with respect. "They say, 'Why is it wrong? I have been doing it this way for 10 years'," Mr Al Zaabi says. "They need time to know what are the right or wrong things."
On Thursday he begins at Salon 2000, a shiny men's salon. He shakes hands with the owner and inspects the sterilising stations. All clear.
At Black & White Dry Cleaning next door, workers iron clothing on clean white bedsheets. But Mr Al Zaabi notices a dirty wall. "They have to do maintenance here," he says. He spots a first aid kit on another wall.
"See like this?" he says, wiping dust away.
As he writes out a warning, the workers smile nervously.
"Small things … " Mr Al Zaabi assures them. "I will show you."
He cleans dust from light switches with a tissue.
"And you have to fix this one," he says, pointing to the side of the staircase, which is missing a large tile.
"And see here?" he says, bounding around a corner, wiping the floor.
Later, Mr Al Zaabi inspects a minuscule barbershop, Salem Hairdressing Saloon.
He prods the ceiling with a broom - revealing a small attic - then takes off his shoes and climbs on a cabinet to peer inside.
Men used to sleep above the ceiling there, a hazardous arrangement the municipality is trying to eradicate. The salon owner uses the area for storage now. "I can't give him a fine for that because he has no space," Mr Al Zaabi says.
Still, the owner is likely to lose his licence when it comes up for renewal because the salon is not large enough, Mr Al Zaabi says, adding that the owner's choice is to move or close shop.
Deeper in the tangle of side streets, Mr Al Zaabi enters Jasim Air Cargo Est. In the back room, a pile of luggage, boxes, newspapers, empty water jugs and rubbish nearly reaches the ceiling.
"Every day, we are facing places like this," Mr Al Zaabi says. "When we go back home, the first thing they say is go to the toilet and take a shower."
Mr Al Zaabi writes the owner a warning.
"If I come in two weeks, he is trying to clean it up, I give him more time," Mr Al Zaabi says. "If he has done nothing, I will give him a fine."
When Mr Al Zaabi returns to his office that afternoon, a man is arguing in the reception area.
Inspectors have told him to move or reduce activities at his 40-square-foot decor shop, required to have 100 square feet, Mr Al Zaabi says.
"Sometimes the people, they shout at us," he says. "But we cannot shout back, because this is our job."
He settles in for a cup of coffee, his kandura still pristine.
vnereim@thenational.ae
Graduated from the American University of Sharjah
She is the eldest of three brothers and two sisters
Has helped solve 15 cases of electric shocks
Enjoys travelling, reading and horse riding
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Business Insights
- As per the document, there are six filing options, including choosing to report on a realisation basis and transitional rules for pre-tax period gains or losses.
- SMEs with revenue below Dh3 million per annum can opt for transitional relief until 2026, treating them as having no taxable income.
- Larger entities have specific provisions for asset and liability movements, business restructuring, and handling foreign permanent establishments.
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Almnssa
Started: August 2020
Founder: Areej Selmi
Based: Gaza
Sectors: Internet, e-commerce
Investments: Grants/private funding
Our legal consultant
Name: Dr Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
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Tips for job-seekers
- Do not submit your application through the Easy Apply button on LinkedIn. Employers receive between 600 and 800 replies for each job advert on the platform. If you are the right fit for a job, connect to a relevant person in the company on LinkedIn and send them a direct message.
- Make sure you are an exact fit for the job advertised. If you are an HR manager with five years’ experience in retail and the job requires a similar candidate with five years’ experience in consumer, you should apply. But if you have no experience in HR, do not apply for the job.
David Mackenzie, founder of recruitment agency Mackenzie Jones Middle East
Wicked
Director: Jon M Chu
Stars: Cynthia Erivo, Ariana Grande, Jonathan Bailey
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Dialysis is a way of cleaning your blood when your kidneys fail and can no longer do the job.
It gets rid of your body's wastes, extra salt and water, and helps to control your blood pressure. The main cause of kidney failure is diabetes and hypertension.
There are two kinds of dialysis — haemodialysis and peritoneal.
In haemodialysis, blood is pumped out of your body to an artificial kidney machine that filter your blood and returns it to your body by tubes.
In peritoneal dialysis, the inside lining of your own belly acts as a natural filter. Wastes are taken out by means of a cleansing fluid which is washed in and out of your belly in cycles.
It isn’t an option for everyone but if eligible, can be done at home by the patient or caregiver. This, as opposed to home haemodialysis, is covered by insurance in the UAE.
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Three stars
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Started: 2020
Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Entertainment
Number of staff: 210
Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners
The specs
Engine: Long-range single or dual motor with 200kW or 400kW battery
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Max touring range: 620km / 590km
Price: From Dh250,000 (estimated)
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Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Museum of the Future in numbers
- 78 metres is the height of the museum
- 30,000 square metres is its total area
- 17,000 square metres is the length of the stainless steel facade
- 14 kilometres is the length of LED lights used on the facade
- 1,024 individual pieces make up the exterior
- 7 floors in all, with one for administrative offices
- 2,400 diagonally intersecting steel members frame the torus shape
- 100 species of trees and plants dot the gardens
- Dh145 is the price of a ticket
RESULTS
Bantamweight: Victor Nunes (BRA) beat Azizbek Satibaldiev (KYG). Round 1 KO
Featherweight: Izzeddin Farhan (JOR) beat Ozodbek Azimov (UZB). Round 1 rear naked choke
Middleweight: Zaakir Badat (RSA) beat Ercin Sirin (TUR). Round 1 triangle choke
Featherweight: Ali Alqaisi (JOR) beat Furkatbek Yokubov (UZB). Round 1 TKO
Featherweight: Abu Muslim Alikhanov (RUS) beat Atabek Abdimitalipov (KYG). Unanimous decision
Catchweight 74kg: Mirafzal Akhtamov (UZB) beat Marcos Costa (BRA). Split decision
Welterweight: Andre Fialho (POR) beat Sang Hoon-yu (KOR). Round 1 TKO
Lightweight: John Mitchell (IRE) beat Arbi Emiev (RUS). Round 2 RSC (deep cuts)
Middleweight: Gianni Melillo (ITA) beat Mohammed Karaki (LEB)
Welterweight: Handesson Ferreira (BRA) beat Amiran Gogoladze (GEO). Unanimous decision
Flyweight (Female): Carolina Jimenez (VEN) beat Lucrezia Ria (ITA), Round 1 rear naked choke
Welterweight: Daniel Skibinski (POL) beat Acoidan Duque (ESP). Round 3 TKO
Lightweight: Martun Mezhlumyan (ARM) beat Attila Korkmaz (TUR). Unanimous decision
Bantamweight: Ray Borg (USA) beat Jesse Arnett (CAN). Unanimous decision
