HH Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai and UAE Minister of Finance, and Lt. General HH Sheikh Saif bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior, signed today a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the Ministry of Interior and the Ministry of Finance at the Presidential Court. The MoU aims to develop civil defense services according to financial procedures followed between the two ministries across the country.
The two sides agreed to establish new activities for the development program, include necessary funds for developing the civil defense services annual balance, and set up a joint committee to execute the articles of the MoU in addition to other related articles.
Lt. General HH Sheikh Saif bin Zayed Al Nahyan said that the Ministry of Interior is committed to supporting the cooperation of different governmental sectors with all partners. He added that the higher leadership directives are to develop the level of performance of the civil defense forces and their members, in order to protect public safety within all facilities and buildings according to the most advanced standards.
The Ministry of Interior has announced that it will carry out an intensive inspection campaign within all facilities across the country to warn violators of security and safety measures in order to ensure that these facilities are following terms and conditions.
The Ministry of Interior also warned all violators, including owners of facilities and buildings that do not comply with the standards, to amend their status and set up alarm systems. They were also directed to implement security and safety measures to protect people and property and to limit fire hazards. Additionally, building and facility owners are to provide fire extinguishers and direct-dispatch alarm systems that enable immediate deployment of fire squads to a location in case of fire.
The Ministry of Interior, represented by the Civil Defense GHQ and its entities, has carried out a number of awareness campaigns and activities focusing on different industrial, commercial, and residential facilities, according to the civil defense’s instructions for protection and safety.
The MoU complements Cabinet Decision No. 24 for 2012 regarding the regulation of civil defense services in the country. According to the decision, the Civil Defense General Directorate is responsible for licensing all of the facilities in the Emirate regarding preventive safety systems, according to regulations and standards issued by His Highness the Minister of Interior. The decision obligates the owners of facilities and buildings to perform regular maintenance for the preventive safety systems through authorized private companies and institutions approved by the General Directorate.
According to the requirements and regulations adopted by the Minister, Cabinet Decision No. 24 also obliges all owners subject to Article No. 2 to participate in preventive safety systems. The owners of the facilities and buildings subject to Article No. 2 of the decision will bare expenses of installing and maintaining the system, the fee of which is decided by HH Minister of Interior in collaboration with HH Minister of Finance.
If the General Directorate, while carrying out a rescue and fire control mission at a certain facility, realizes that safety measures were not taken into account or that fire-fighting devices were not installed or present, it will then have the right to ask the facility to bare all expenses related to the rescue mission, given that it will not exceed 50,000 AED. The HH Minister of Interior, in collaboration with the HH Minister of Finance, will set standards and methods to calculate expenses.
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