Sheikh Hamdan bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Ruler's Representative in the Western Region, yesterday opened the first purpose built TAMM centre in Mirfa. This is the first in a series of centre openings across the Western Region and fulfills the promise made by the Western Region Municipality (WRM).
The 2009 Municipal Awards were also presented during the event and HE Hamood Humaid Al Mansouri, General Manager of the Western Region Municipality, presented HH Sheikh Hamdan with WRM’s ISO certificate (2008/9001) for quality before hosting a tour of the new TAMM centre.
TAMM, which means ‘done’ in Arabic, is part of the Western Region Municipality strategy to initiate a new era of change. HE Hamood Humaid Al Mansouri, General Manager of the Western Region Municipality, said: “This is a proud day in the history of the Western Region. This building is the demonstration of our ability to deliver real benefit to the people of the region and the realization of hard work and investment. While we celebrate this achievement, we will not stand still: this is not the end of the work. We will continue to seek to make a difference to the lives of everyone in the Western Region.”
Rashid Mubarak Al Hajeri, Chairman of Department of Municipal Affairs, said: “The inauguration of TAMM Centre at Mirfa city today is one of the Western Region Municipality’s great achievements, and it comes within the framework set by the Abu Dhabi government to develop the Western region. TAMM Centre is a world-class integrated government services centre. The Department of Municipal Affairs in Abu Dhabi will always encourage exclusive municipal services initiatives as part of its sustainable development support in the Emirate.” he added.
The new TAMM centres provide accessibility to government services across the region. The four TAMM centers will continue to bring together a wide range of state-of-the-art government services. Essential service-providers or partners such as Etisalat and the National Bank of Abu Dhabi will continue to operate within the new centres.
WRM has invested 200m AED in the four new centres and fulfills the promise that 100% of the region would be covered by TAMM services. In 2007 only 33% of the geographical area was covered.
It should also lead to significant savings in time and money for residents and help the Emirate reduce its carbon emissions. At the event a film was shown which highlighted how TAMM centres have reduced the need of citizens to go to Abu Dhabi for government and private company services. This allows residents more time to live productively in the region and reduce the amount of their income spent on petrol.
Hamood Humaid Al Mansouri added: “This is a significant contribution to the country’s objectives as laid out in the 2030 vision. Delivering such services locally will help us meet the commitment in the 2030 vision for sustainable regional growth. I want people to come to live and work in the Western Region rather than locals leaving: this will help development. TAMM also contributes to our objective of environmental sustainability by making services available locally.”
Khalifa Al Mansoori, Executive Director – City Area Services Sector”, WRM, said: “This is a significant moment for the Western Region, its residents and the municipality. Opening this purpose-built TAMM centre is the fulfillment of a promise WRM made to the residents. TAMM may mean ‘done’ but this is the dawn of new era not the end. We will continue to strive to improve services.”
During the last three years TAMM centers have surpassed many milestones and notably have set some new benchmarks for future progress:
TAMM currently services 84% of the land mass area of the Western Region, which will rise to 100% with the opening of further centres in Liwa and Mirfa in 2010.
100% of all TAMM direct employees are UAE Nationals (Local).
Over 25 government sector partners at each TAMM center.
In 2008 the total number of TAMM transactions was 220,239.
In 2009 the total number of TAMM transactions was 277,283.
The Municipal Awards for 2009 were also presented as part of the event. HE Hamood Humaid Al Mansouri said: “It is important that we recognize the valuable contribution made by our employees to the development of services in the Western Region. In 2009 we witnessed real progress which will be built upon in the coming years.”
