Page 349 - Truncal States to UAE_Neat

Chapter Eight

term planning. Many of the senior staff in each department of the
Office were British specialists who had undertaken similar projects
in the Sudan, India, the Hadhramaul or East Africa. By May 1970
twenty-six British citizens were employed by the Development
Office,123 ten of whom worked in the field of technical education, six in
the Public Works Department, five in the health services and three in
agricultural services. A fisheries specialist and the Senior Develop­
ment Officer were also British. Several of them were seconded from
the Ministry of Overseas Development and could therefore call on the
specialised expertise of people working for that organisation, as well
as for the Food and Agricultural Organisation of the United Nations.
Many of these men recognised the challenge to achieve under
very difficult conditions, and they brought with them a wealth of
experience which they were keen to apply. They were faced with
what was for many of them an ideal planners’ "grass roots” situation:
they could start from scratch. They were working for a relatively
small organisation in which they could to a certain extent use their
own initiative, and they could see the results of their efforts among an
appreciative population. In this atmosphere a team spirit could grow,
often also drawing in officials working in administrative functions in
Dubai itself and throughout the northern shaikhdoms. This also
meant that voluntary assistance was often offered by individuals
working for companies who were operating in these States. In the
small and close circle of expatriates who were based in Dubai
everyone took an interest in the efforts and problems of the
Development Office, and in particular the Political Agency remained
a focal point for the discussion of development matters. The advisers
who were employed by some of the Trucial Shaikhs and municipali­
ties in various capacities were often instrumental in informally co­
ordinating the work of the Development Office with the projects of
the individual Rulers.
Formally the Development Office was independent of the British
Political Agency from 1965, when the chairmanship of the Trucial
Stales Council was taken by Shaikh Saqr bin Muhammad of Ra’s al
Khaimah. But the Political Agent remained a member of the Council,
sat in on all its meetings, and was still very much involved in steering
the Rulers, often individually, towards accepting British views on
development priorities. Thus Britain played an important part in the
commencement of developing the Trucial States by providing
expertise rather than large sums of money.
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