Tag Archives: georgia
Economy to benefit as Enoc and Eppco cut diesel prices
Economy to benefit as Enoc and Eppco cut diesel prices Amanda Fisher / 2 June 2013 Dubai’s transport sector is in line for a boon with expectations savings could be passed on to consumers, after the emirate’s petrol stations announced a 20 fil reduction per litre of diesel — though costs in other parts of the country remain much lower. Emirates National Oil Company announced the price of diesel at its more than 100 Enoc and Eppco petrol stations would drop from Dh3.7 a litre to Dh3.5, effective from Saturday. An Al Khail Road pump showing the revised price. KT photo by Rahul Gajjar The prices of both petrol and diesel in the country are heavily subsidised, with diesel in Abu Dhabi and Al Ain Adnoc petrol stations retailing for Dh2.35 a litre. Prices were at a record Dh4.56 per litre in 2008, during a volatile period when diesel prices fluctuated heavily. However, the price has been climbing steadily with little respite ever since, with transport companies such as Dubai-based Euro Movers International feeling the pinch, according to director Khurram Abdulla. “The last five years the fuel costs have been going up, so any reduction is obviously very welcome, so it will have a positive impact on our bottom line.” Abdulla said his company spent about half-a-million dirhams each year on fuel for their local and international transport companies, which relied on seven vans and trucks using diesel. “I think this is the first time it’s actualy coming down. Normally we’re used to it just going up.” He said he was optimistic the price reduction would remain in place for some time, in which case the company could look to pass on savings to customers. “It’s very competitive (in) our industry and Dubai in general is very competitive, so whatever we can do to make ourselves more competitive (we will). We’ll definitely pass that on…We’ll wait for a month to see how much we can pass on…we might be able at the end of the month to see a reduction of five per cent,” Abdulla said after doing a few calculations based on the new lowered price. While fuel costs only amounted to about 10 per cent of the company’s overall costs, Abdulla said the company would hope to see secondary savings in their international arm, if shipping companies they contracted also passed the savings from the lowered international price of diesel. Enoc retail managing director Burhan Al Hashemi said Enoc had revised the price of diesel in line with the international price trends for crude and refined products. “The recent decline in international prices has provided us an ideal window of opportunity to pass on the price benefits to diesel users. The price decrease will have a positive impact on the overall economy, given the vital role that diesel plays in the logistics sector,” he said in a statement. Al Hashemi said the price revision should benefit the manufacturing sector and other supply companies with large fleets that use diesel. However, economic advisers Nasser Saidi and Associates founder Nasser Saidi said the price reduction would have just a minor impact. “Diesel, of course, is important for transport so to that extent it will lower the cost…and it will effectively mean at a consumer level, although to a very marginal level, (product prices) will decline.” However, that needed to be put “in perspective”. “Transport costs are important but not the main determinate of consumer prices…at best this will have a marginal effect. Clearly the people who use diesel in the cars will see the effect but that’s a minority of people.” Saidi also warned the reduction would be temporary as international prices would rise again. He attributed the fall in global prices to seasonal patterns, with the diesel used for heating major northern hemisphere markets of the United States and Europe not needed as they headed into summer. Saidi put out a plea to the government to instead of passing on the “negligible” savings to consumers, that they be reinvested in the sector to develop renewable energy. amanda@khaleejtimes.com Continue reading
No arrest in front of families for minor crimes in Sharjah
No arrest in front of families for minor crimes in Sharjah Ahmed Shaaban / 1 June 2013 The Sharjah Police have been told not to arrest anyone guilty of a minor crime in front of their families, as the first in a series of suburban majlises (councils) in Sharjah opens. Shaikh Sultan interacts with citizens after inaugurating the majlis at Mughaidar in Al Tala district of Sharjah on Thursday. — Wam His Highness Dr Shaikh Sultan bin Mohammed Al Qasimi, Member of the Supreme Council and Ruler of Sharjah, who inaugurated the majlis at Mughaidar in Al Tala District on Thursday morning, said the councils were to be a safe haven for people to approach officials directly about their concerns. “We have always been dreaming of such outskirts majlises, and only today the dream has come true with the Mughaidar majlis, the first in a series to follow.” He added that the rationale behind such councils is to more efficiently fulfil people’s needs in terms of property, housing and other similar issues. “We…want these councils to enhance communication between officials and all members of the society.” Shaikh Sultan said there were many critical grounds behind the institution of these councils. “We’d like to protect people’s dignity, particularly home, in front of their wives and children.” Some people may make mistakes or do something wrong and hence the law enforcement bodies get involved, and arrest the wrongdoer in front of his family members. “Such kind of disgrace is not acceptable and does dishonour people.” Dr Shaikh Sultan said this should not happen in the case of minor crimes, such as bounced cheques or failure to pay loans or debts. “These are not big crimes such as murder, robberies and being a fugitive.” The police have been instructed never to storm any person’s house or arrest them before their family in these minor cases and violations. “Instead, the people in charge of these suburb councils need to interfere and talk to all parties concerned to amicably find a way out.” Shaikh Sultan said some people got angry about bad odour rising from their neighbours’ houses because of the sheep and cattle they were raising. “The suburban councils must interfere to protect neighbours’ rights and (there is) no need for police to interfere,” he said, indicating that people may also submit their comments and suggestions to the competent and prudent officials there to make the process more effective. Present at the inauguration were Shaikh Sultan bin Mohammed Al Qasimi, Crown Prince and Deputy Ruler of Sharjah, and Shaikh Abdullah bin Salem bin Sultan Al Qasimi, Deputy Ruler of Sharjah. – ahmedshaaban@khaleejtimes.com Sultan to chair pan-Arab Council of Elders The Sharjah Declaration on Family Cohesion, recently issued by the Arab Family Organisation (AFO), called for setting up of a council of elders and a centre for social studies to create a pan-Arab database for family researchers. The council will be chaired by His Highness Dr Shaikh Sultan bin Mohammed Al Qasimi, Supreme Council Member and Ruler of Sharjah. Members of the new council will be selected from Arab countries in consultation with Shaikh Sultan, according to the declaration which was issued this month by the board of trustees of the AFO’s Arab Family Award, at a meeting in Sharjah. The declaration urged stakeholders to study the effects of globalisation on Arab families in preparation for drawing up an Arab strategy to protect the families from destructive thought. It also called for tapping the capabilities of the United Nations agencies involved in the achievement of Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) to reinforce national capabilities in this regard. The declaration recommended a review of development strategies so as to eliminate social backhandedness, poverty, diseases and illiteracy, in rural areas in particular. It also recommended a review of social policies to make them more compatible with MDGs. It urged for the development of national statistics centres including the improvement of technical capabilities. A media strategy to promote the values of Arab families through cultural and educational programmes was demanded by the declaration. The declaration called for the launch of a charter of honour for Arab TV channels as part of efforts to promote the values of Arab families and culture. It underlined the importance of concerted efforts by the Arab media and educational institutions to formulate a pan-Arab vision for preserving standard Arabic language and the sublime values of Islam The declaration thanked the President, His Highness Shaikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, for his support to work for families in the UAE. It also thanked Dr Shaikh Sultan for extending his patronage to the AFO and congratulated Lt-General Shaikh Saif bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior, on winning the AFO’s Personality of the Year for Family Cohesion and Social Security award for 2013. — Wam Continue reading
Refugee food task much taller than the Burj Khalifa
Refugee food task much taller than the Burj Khalifa Nivriti Butalia / 1 June 2013 Building the Burj Khalifa was a feat that took five years, but Jordanian bakers catering to Syrian refugees that have flooded the region are reaching three times that height — every day. The approximately 500,000 pieces of khobz bread that are dished out each day to the more than 100,000 Syrian refugees who live in what is said to be the second largest refugee camp in the world, the Zaatari Syrian Refugee Camp, would sit somewhere in the order of 2,500 metres if piled on top of each other, according to the World Food Programme which orchestrates this mass feeding event every morning. It can also prove quite a weight to lug for little arms, with many of the camp’s children being sent to collect the bread rations that are distributed every morning between 5.30 and 9. A 10-year-old boy called Mazin collects bread for his family of five, but, like many others, he has devised a way to manage the weight. He interlinks the knotted bows of two white plastic bags, so the weight evens out. The knotted bows of two plastic packets will rest beside his neck, on his shoulder, while one packet will fall on his back, and one in front. Same with the other shoulder, and one packet he’ll twine between his fingers. And all this bread, 27 metric tonnes of it, according to the WFP, comes from just two contracted bakeries in the Jordanian capital Amman, keeping hunger at bay for these refugees who have fled their homes and are, in many cases, left with nothing. – nivriti@khaleejtimes.com Continue reading
