Sharjah 24: His Highness Sheikh Dr. Sultan bin Muhammad Al Qasimi, Supreme Council Member and Ruler of Sharjah, affirmed that efforts to find jobs for the citizens of the Emirate of Sharjah are underway, and that work is also ongoing to address the conditions of retired non-local employees of the emirate's citizens, and announced a package of development projects that will be implemented in the cities of the emirate during 2022.

His Highness Sheikh Dr. Sultan bin Muhammad Al Qasimi’s words came while making an intervention via "Direct Line" programme broadcast by Sharjah Broadcasting Authority (SBA), by Mohammed Hassan Khalaf, Director-General of Sharjah Broadcasting Authority,  during which His Highness responded to a question raised in the programme about the 1,000 jobs that were announced at the end of the last year, explaining that these jobs came at the request of some departments of the Sharjah government and are within the general budget for the current year.

In this context, His Highness the Ruler of Sharjah said: "We work as a joint team. This team includes a number of departments. We work to find jobs other than those in the government. As for creating jobs, such as opening new departments, these are all new additions to the budget. Our work in this team differs from what the government puts in because when they decided the budget, they specified the expenses and the employees their departments need, but we in this team have other ways.”

Regarding the 3,000 jobs at the Sharjah Police, His Highness Sheikh Dr. Sultan bin Muhammad Al Qasimi said that the Sharjah Police should do the replacement gradually and in accordance with certain effective mechanism so that the new employees can have enough training and carry out their work duly and efficiently.

Concerning the 5400 retirees issue, His Highness Sheikh Dr. Sultan bin Muhammad Al Qasimi affirmed that their issue has been taken into great attention in the 2022 budget. Their pensions have also been taken into account be they categorised as “families whose breadwinner are deceased’, “families whose breadwinners are bedridden”, or  “families whose breadwinners can work”, promising that 2022, God willing,  will herald good tidings and bear considerable goodness for these categories especially that the larger portion of the budget has been dedicated to social services.

As for the employment priority, His Highness the Ruler of Sharjah said that more attention and priority are given to the needy families to preserve them and provide them with the due stability and cohesion.

In the context of recruitment, His Highness urged citizens to show desire and sincerity in work and not to keep rejecting whatever jobs they are offered under the context of “I like or dislike this kind of job”.

Attaching considerable attention to family stability and cohesion, His Highness said: "We are keen on the stability of the society, whose nucleus is the family, which is founded by the young man and woman, whom we are keen to provide a decent life, so that they can form a successful and stable family that contributes to building a successful society. We strive to achieve goodness for the community, God willing."

Touching on 2022 projects, His Highness said that most substantial development projects that will be accomplished during 2022 are the opening of Khorfakkan University, and construction will be completed in the middle of this year, God willing, to open it after the summer term, and for me, “it is the most important project now."

His Highness added: "We have other projects, including investment, entertainment and tourism, all of which come on time, according to the urban development plan. We have almost completed the development of the city of Khorfakkan, and this year we will complete the development of Kalba, God willing, and then the Central Region, knowing that this area was scheduled to be developed in 2023, but it attracted us to it to start its development, and we have several projects in the Central Region, including Sharjah Safari,  Al Shari’aa Project, and Al Batha Lake, all of them will be implemented this year, God willing.”

His Highness the Ruler of Sharjah continued: "As for the city of Kalba, its projects are huge, as we notice that the city of Kalba has a beach that does not exist in any city…work is progress regarding the replacement of old buildings to be completed this year.  We also have the Kalba market project; work is going on in Al Kitab Rest Project, and we have a large project at the entrance to the city of Kalba, which is the hanging gardens and the lagoon, all of which will be completed this year, God willing.” 

About the University of Kalba, His Highness said that work is underway and is scheduled to open in mid-2023, as we are developing the infrastructure of buildings as well as internal facilities including laboratories and halls. “We also have the clock tower project located on Al Wahda Street, extending from Khatam Milahah entrance to Oman to Fujairah Airport. This project will be opened this year, God willing,” His Highness added.

His Highness Sheikh Dr. Sultan bin Muhammad Al Qasimi, Supreme Council Member and Ruler of Sharjah, concluded his intervention by saying: "As we develop society, we develop facilities for it, so that citizens and residents can enjoy the facilities. These projects also open up job opportunities for owners of small investment projects, and we wish good luck to all, God willing.”