Page 284 - UAE Truncal States

A City Stain - Example Dubai

Dubai very quickly gained an advantage over Sharjah, which, due
to the activities of the RAF and the Trucial Oman Levies within its
territory, had drawn equal with Dubai in volume of trade by about
1950.315 Imports came largely on steamers which still had to be off­
loaded about two miles out at sea, but the barges of the shipping
agent, Gray Mackenzie & Co., could now enter the creek at all limes
and did not have to wail for high tide. Similarly the local craft on
which a large part of the merchandise was re-exported to Iran,
Pakistan, and India, could enter and leave the creek regardless of the
tide.37

Improving the town
In 1958 Shaikh Sa'fd bin Maktum died, and his son Rashid, who had
already been largely responsible for government in Dubai, became
the Ruler. Twenty years after the first short-lived attempt, a new
Municipal Council was set up in Dubai, and the nucleus of a
municipal administration was organised, for which task a qualified
clerk was recruited from the Sudan. By 1961 the three sections of this
municipality employed 40 staff and 120 labourers, and had a budget
of 300,000 Rupees of which 40,000 Rupees were subsidies and
260,000 Rupees were derived from tax revenue. Also in 1958 the
nucleus of a police force under the command of a British police officer
took over the duties of the Ruler’s guards.
The necessity to widen roads and plan the further development of
the town led to the engagement of a British firm of architects and
town planners, John Harris, to draw up a town plan for Dubai.
Shortly afterwards, a survey was started to search for a better supply
of water; this survey was paid for by Shaikh Ahmad bin 'Ali Al Thani
of Qatar, son-in-law of the Ruler of Dubai. The hub of all this activity
remained, however, the development of the creek and its wharfs,
loading facilities, and warehouses.30 This development was pro­
moted by the Dubai Port Committee, which counted amongst its
members not only the prominent merchants but also bank managers,
representatives of consultancy companies, of Gray Mackenzie & Co.,
and the British Political Agent. Because most of the other develop­
ment of Dubai was linked to the development of the port, this Dubai
Port Committee became the co-ordinating body for many subsequent
projects and eventually served as a general advisory committee to the
Ruler.
Between 1959 and 1961 the foundation was also laid for a system

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