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Liberalization of economic activities .. pros and cons

Sami Al Riyami

reyami@emaratalyoum.comsamialreyami

May 10, 2021

It is no secret that there are citizens whispering and deliberating with a degree of caution and concern, information about a draft decision that seeks to liberalize all economic activities at the state level, with the exception of some activities with a strategic impact previously identified by the Ministry of Economy, and this simply means canceling the requirement for the availability of an Emirati partner in all the rules Work in commercial licensing and business permit systems.

First of all, I can confirm, with full confidence, that no Emirati citizen is against the state’s decisions or policies, and if there are observations on a decision, it definitely falls within the field of delivering the note and the voice of its owners to the decision-makers, not the objection.

On the other hand, I can also emphasize that the state cannot issue decisions and laws that negatively affect its citizens, and if there are direct or indirect negative effects on a certain segment of citizens from a decision, it will inevitably be the subject of study and discussion, and it will not come to light until after That the state creates the ideal solution that guarantees the preservation of the rights and interests of citizens.

With regard to the draft decision to liberalize all economic activities, and to cancel the requirement for an Emirati partner, we must first be fully aware that there are many groups, and a very wide segment of citizens, most of whom are elderly, men and women, and the retired category who are looking for additional income to help them bear The high costs of life, or those who do not work for any reason, these groups and others are the main beneficiaries of having a citizen partner in commercial licenses, and they depend entirely and chiefly on the "simple" annual income that comes from their partnership in those commercial licenses.

This situation has existed since the establishment of the state, and frankly, everyone benefits from this situation, and there is no affected party, so the foreign investor gets the benefits of the license, works in a prosperous and developed market, and enjoys advantages that he does not find in any other country, and earns hundreds of thousands, sometimes millions of dirhams annually. According to the type of economic activity and the commercial license, and it annually throws small amounts that are negligible compared to his profit for the citizen partner, and the citizen benefits from these simple sums as additional income that helps him bear the expenses of his home and his children, and the state is also a beneficiary, as it does not bear additional costs that it pays for that citizen, because with this Small sums go out from the Social Security Department. The question here is: If the licenses are issued, will they receive compensation or a social security amount? Because they will definitely be re-entered into the categories entitled to this guarantee!

We never disagree, with the existence of negatives or problems for this system, there are many problems that began to appear recently, and there is absolutely no doubt that the new draft resolution came to solve these problems, or to keep pace with certain international considerations and laws, there is no disagreement on that, and we all know that the existence of An Emirati partner, known socially as "the sleeping partner", caused problems related to financial matters, and the foreign partner escaped after he seized the funds and facilities of the commercial license, but does this mean that the solution is to cancel the whole system, liberalize commercial activities, and cut a vital and important fixed income For a large segment of society, whose economic conditions do not tolerate any shocks of this kind, or is the solution to regulate this sector, and try to issue some legislations and laws that put an end to the existing financial problems?

As for harmonization with global laws and considerations, this is a good thing, and the UAE is one of the most developed countries in this field, and it continuously proves its international competitiveness, and has achieved numbers that many others have not been able to achieve, but the state also has the right to protect the simple citizen from any repercussions that could arise. This harmonization brings it to him, for we are here with our demographic situation not comparable to other large countries, we have our different peculiarities, which we must take into account in all our laws, and the world takes into account as well. All countries of the world do not care about international laws if they feel that they negatively affect their economy or the lives of their citizens. The trade and economic wars the United States of America, the largest country in the world representing freedom and capitalism, did against China and restricting the entry of Chinese products into the American market is a perfect example of that!

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