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LONDON: Dubai-based companies that are owned by people with disabilities, or ‘people of determination,’ are set to get new business perks from the government.
The local municipality will offer UAE nationals with disabilities ‘preferential’ treatment at the purchasing section in the Contracts and Purchasing Department of Dubai Municipality, said a report from Dubai’s state news agency WAM.
In April last year, Dubai’s ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al-Maktoum decreed that disabled people would be known as ‘people of determination’ in a move to recognize “their monumental efforts in overcoming all challenges.”
Those who possess the People of Determination card issued by the Ministry of Community Development, or Sanad Card issued by the Community Development Authority in Dubai, are entitled to the business privileges.
Mohammed Al Zaffin, Director of the Contracts and Purchasing Department at the Dubai Municipality, said: “The privileges include prioritizing people of determination who are UAE nationals with a bid price difference of five percent, exempting them from registration and renewal fees for suppliers and prioritizing their purchase orders for less than 10,000 dirhams.”
He added that the privileges also include exclusive offers, prioritizing the disbursement of financial payments to their companies, and accepting the receipt of documents by email, without the need to be present at the office.
Al-Zaffin said: “These privileges are part of the social commitment of the municipality, to support and empower people of determination and appreciate their efforts and potential. The municipality attaches significant importance to people of determination and is keen to establish and launch initiatives to support them,” he said.
The initiative is part of Dubai’s National Strategy for Empowering People with Disabilities, which revolves around six pillars including health and rehabilitation, education, vocational rehabilitation and employment, mobility and social protection.
At the time of the launch of the strategy, Sheikh Mohammed said: “Disability is in fact the inability to make progress and achievements. The achievements that people of determination have made in various spheres over the past years are proof that determination and strong will can do the impossible and encourage people to counter challenges and difficult circumstances while firmly achieving their goals.”