UAE plans to outsource most govt services: PM

The United Arab Emirates plans to outsource most government tasks to the private sector and cut the number of ministries, Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum said on Monday.

"We will have a road map to outsource most government services to the private sector ... The new government will have a smaller number of ministries and more ministers to deal with national and strategic issues," the prime minister said on his official Twitter account.

He announced the formation of a single education ministry, abolishing the ministry of higher education, and fused several other state bodies into related ministries. No time frame was given for the changes.

Gulf Arab oil exporters have for years subsidized food, fuel, electricity and water, keeping prices very low in an effort to maintain social order, though the UAE economy is less reliant than some of its neighbors on oil revenues.

The prime minister’s series of tweets also announced two new posts to the federal government.

The Minister of State for Tolerance has been added “to instill tolerance as a fundamental value” in the Emirati society.

The Dubai ruler also introduced the post of Minister of State for Happiness “whose mission is to channel policies and plans to achieve a happier society.”