Abu Dhabi, December 09: Lt-General Shaikh Saif bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior, has said that the visa application fees are non-refundable.
In a written reply to a member’s question at the Federal National Council (FNC) on Tuesday, the minister said the fees have nothing to do with the result of the application — whether it is accepted or rejected.
“The fees are collected under the Federal cabinet resolution No. 16 of 1997 on transactions for naturalisation and residency,” he clarified. “We don’t see any pretext for refunding part or whole of these fees.”
Meanwhile, the house debated, in the presence of Dr Rashid Ahmed bin Fahd, Minister of Environment and Water, the development and protection of fish resources.
The house called for creating a judicial authority to reinforce laws related to conservation, protection and development of fish wealth and providing a regular government assistance of Dh200,000 to each fishermen’s society in the country. It also demanded an increase in financial and material assistance to fishermen and decrease in government fees for them and bringing some categories of fishermen under the social assistance umbrella.
It stressed the need for creating adequate fishing infrastructure like quays and jetties, ice factories, cold storage facilities, fish processing plants and drying and freezing facilities.
It urged the government to conduct an exhaustive study on social and technological woes facing fishermen.
It also demanded payment of compensation to fishermen affected by cyclones and red tide and subsidised fuel by offering special coupons.
The house called for assessing the existing fishing harbours and design a future plan for the profession. It also floated a proposal for establishing a national company for developing the profession and taking care of distribution and marketing of fish catch.
The house recommended better coordination between all stakeholders, including security agencies, increasing the sector’s budget and establishing more fish farms and strengthening cooperation between these farms and educational institutions.
It also recommended inclusion of fish resources in school curricula.
It said more efforts are needed to farm coral reef and mangroves in the Gulf of Oman. The FNC called for instituting a national award after the name of Shaikh Zayed for fishing and launching annual fishing competitions and emirates international fish farming award.
–Agencies