The winner and runner-ups of World Mayor 2014 will be chosen based on the number of nominations in relation to the size of their cities and, more importantly, on the persuasiveness and conviction of testimonials received during this year's World Mayor Project. Below we publish a selection of comments received to date about WM nominee Hani Mohammad Aburas, Mayor of Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
Comment: Let me first start by thanking you for your great efforts throughout the years in tracking and nominating the best city mayors form all around the world.
Secondly, I am sure I am in no need of explaining what have Dr.Aburas achieved since his appointment as mayor of Jeddah in 2010 as I believe your respected selves have all the information. However, what I would like to mention is that Dr.Aburas has been appointed at a time where the city's conditions wasn't at it's best, but thankfully, he managed with the help of God first and his team to pass us - citizens of Jeddah- through this rough time.
Everyone in the city knew there were lots of improvements needed to improve the standards of Jeddah in order to make it worth living in and to make it, hopefully, one of the best cities in the region. With Dr.Hani being its mayor, and with all his commitment, hard work and most importantly his love to this beautiful city, he made us believe Jeddah will always be the bride of the Red Sea.
Comment: I believe that the Mayor of Jeddah worth to win the prize. He have the leadership skills and attitude to guide the improvement of the Jeddah city.
He is supporting the new young leaders within his organization by positioning them in the right managerial level and giving the confidence and support for example the manager of the Building Licenses Manager, Mega Projects licenses Manager, Projects Portfolio Manager, Investments Manager, and others. Although, he gives a recognition to the expert employees at the organization and give them more responsibilities and authorities for example the Services Deputy Mayor and Projects Deputy Mayor.
He is leading and managing the organization through the strategy planning and Balanced Scorecard. A long term plan have be developed which is the city wide strategy plan up to 2033. From that level a five year strategy plan for the organization created and then has been cascaded to lower level up to the major departments. The plans contains objectives, KPIs with targets, and list of initiatives and projects. From the city wide plan each governmental organization know what they have to do to achieve the vision and strategic goals of the city. As well the internal departments are guided by the five year strategy plan. Whereas the KPIs has been set to monitor the performance and identifies the gaps. Also, the budgeting process is linked to the strategy plan and management.
He have established a long term change management process. He started by the restructuring project for the organization. Engagement program is about to start this year. This process is leading to a more efficient organization structure and better modes of operating and preforming.
He is using the IT and the process improvement to enhance the way of doing the work and delivering the services to the residents. IT solution and systems are implemented to provide more e-services. For example the building permits; in which the applications are submitted online and at the end the permits could be printed electronically.
Comment: I would like to support the candidacy of HE Dr. Hani Aburas for World Mayor 2014. Having great ideas and vision for a city is of course a starting point, but the real challenge for a mayor is to have those ideas implemented in a way that is sustainable, based on best practices and includes consideration for all stakeholders. Jeddah, under the leadership of Dr. Hani, has been successful at implementing solutions in record time and in way that instills pride in citizens and visitors alike.
Dr. Hani has also shown wise decision making in the prioritization of public works projects, addressing the health and environmental concerns with immediacy and has also shown a keen willingness to involve the private sector in the various projects in the city. This has resulted in a model that is truly sustainable, not just from an environmental standpoint, but also from the social and economic perspectives.
Comment: •Four years ago, Jeddah had a disaster resulting from storm water, which led to destruction of some roads and some tunnels as well. Aburas started with a strategy for constructing a future city.
• Aburas followed the organizational interactive method in managing the municipality of Jeddah.
• Aburas arranged daily interviews with the residents of Jeddah to discuss their needs and consider their ideas.
• Aburas dismantled the centralized management into future organized managements.
Comment: I would to vote for Dr. Hani Aburas for 2014 world mayor prize for the following reasons.
1- since 2010 I have worked with Jeddah municipality for three consecutive years as part time consultant for women inspection section under direct supervision of Dr. Arwa Alama for whom the direct boss is Dr. Aburas. I personally noticed his efforts and keen interest to develop the women section, he was open minded and very supportive.
2- As a citizen I am benefitting from the still ongoing major improvement and maintanance in streets and several new highways.
3- Many open area parks and playgrounds for children have been created in Jeddah districts.
4- Also for the first time we will soon have a train public transportation connecting Jeddah to major Islamic capitals in the world (Makka and Madina) which will make transportation easier for millions of muslims visiting holy cities throughout the year via Jeddah as the gate to these cities.
Dr. Aburas has a long list of initiatives and did deliver on a long list of projects that all residents and visitors can see. Dr. Aburas is a major player for so many projects affecting the lives of all residents in Jeddah City.
• Initiatives in establishing new companies leading major projects in Jeddah such as Wad Al Asla Developments, Heart of Jeddah Developments, Developments of Slums Areas in Jeddah, etc.
Comment: As the Gateway to the Two Holy Mosques‚ Jeddah is venerated throughout the Islamic world. Jeddah’s unique place in history has been a source of inspiration and pride for more than fourteen centuries. Jeddah is a major city in its own right, with more than 3.4 million residents which makes it the second largest city in KSA and by virtue of its geographical and historical position is a major commercial and pilgrimage center.
Under the leadership of Dr Aburas, the Mayor of Jeddah, a well-ordered plan that seeks to blend the city‚s historic culture with the demands of the changing world, in order to provide the citizens of Jeddah an improved infrastructure which will support economic development, improve social welfare and enhance their quality of life.
The Jeddah Strategic Plan, first issued in 2009, clearly outlines a vision for Jeddah as a modern day city that will provide prosperity to the communities it serves as well maintaining the tradition of hosting Muslim pilgrims from all parts of the world. This plan gave rise to a number of key initiatives which have each been instrumental in leading the challenge to deliver the plan.
First among these was the formation of Jeddah Development and Urban Regeneration Company (JDURC), whose aim it was to encourage partnerships between the public and private sectors with a common goal of providing a range of sustainable urban developments that includes affordable housing for the citizens of Jeddah, commercial development projects, leisure and recreational projects and improved transportation. JDURC provides the public sector with key services to make schemes both viable and successful including, facilitating requisite approvals, assisting with appropriate legislation and adding value to development schemes.
The Jeddah Transport Master Plan is focused on ensuring journeys both to and from and within the city can be undertaken safely and controlled using a safe and well managed transport network. An integral part of this plan is the Jeddah Public Transport Program (JPTP) that includes metro, commuter and tramway rail systems, water ferries, BRT and long distance coaches, obhur bride and multimodal station. The JPTP is currently in implementation stage through Metro Jeddah Company, a newly form company to undertake JPTP.
Jeddah waterfront is a key feature of the cities life. The Red Sea, which forms the western edge of the city with its tropical warm water, has long been a haven for commerce, social and recreational activity. The construction of the two phases of the Jeddah Corniche provided the citizens of Jeddah the modern amenities to help families to meet surrounded by the natural environment where they can relax and play.
The plan has enjoyed significant support from both Central Government and the Local and International Market.
Comment: Hani Mohammad Aburas did so many beautiful things for the city. He did things which he promised to do. He made Jeddah as a chief city of tourism.
Comment: The mayor is a good planner, he saved our city Jeddah from crisis, he have an excellent vision and strategies of development of the city and he follow scientific methods in decision making process.
Comment: Although in the website it suggests that i use this email to give reasons why Jeddah's Mayor "Hani Aburas" should win mayor of world . I'm sad to say that this email gives reasons why he should NOT be in this list in the first place.
While reviewing your "Code of Ethics" its easy to see that he is not fit for this award or even as mayor.
First of all the former Mayor "Adnan Fageeh , currently holding two ministries in Saudi Arabia which shows his power" is the current mayor's uncle and he hugely recommended that his nephew take his place.
Article 2 is clearly inapplicable cause homosexuality is illegal in Saudi Arabia and punishable by death and as mayor he should support that.
Article 3 The mayor cannot push any laws as he has not power to rule such thing , the only person who can do that is the Prince of the western region.
Article 8 made me laugh cause the mayors in this city have a long history of giving projects not to the best bidders but based on personal connections and the current mayor is no exception if you get the official and non-official papers from them and investigate.