The Department of Economic Development – Abu Dhabi (ADDED) has launched the Government Economic Partnership Platform, "Sharakah", a centralised claims platform to register private sector companies who have provided services to government bodies but have not yet been compensated as well as for disputed fines.

Applicants can apply to speed up the settlement of their payment by accessing the platform online or visiting the Abu Dhabi Business Centre in ADDED's head office, where a dedicated team can guide them confidentially through the process.

A special committee has been created to review outstanding payments due to the private sector, and oversee all procedures related to the settlement of these payments. As a first step, ADDED will collect the data related to outstanding payments, validate and verify them and prioritise dues for payout based on criteria including age and risk.

The information collected will remain confidential and allow the Special Committee to review reasons for non-payment and revamp the payment process across government sectors to accelerate payout to private sector suppliers in the future.

Saif Al Hajeri, chairman of The Department of Economic Development - Abu Dhabi, said: "His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan has made it clear that we all have to work together to improve the ease of doing business in Abu Dhabi especially for entrepreneurs, SMEs and the private sector. By empowering them, we can increase their contribution to the economy and job creation.”

"With His Highness's instructions in mind, the Abu Dhabi Department of Economic Development is currently working on seven different initiatives, all of which aim to make Abu Dhabi the destination of choice for businesses of all sectors and sizes. In this endeavour, we are committed to work hand in hand with the private sector to build greater trust and understanding, as this will lay the foundation for long-term future partnerships.

"To foster trust with the private sector, we launched 'Sharakah' to allow companies from the private sector to escalate their claims to the Special Committee, which in turn could escalate to the Executive Committee. 'Sharakah' in essence is a direct and confidential channel for these companies to the senior leadership in the Government, an access that was not available before. The feedback received will also be beneficial to review and revamp payment processes in the future so that private companies providing services to government bodies have a constant cash flow,” he added.

He also reiterated that the Abu Dhabi Government appreciates the strong and mutually beneficial relationships it has with its different suppliers in the private sector, which is why it has widened the scope of the Government Economic Partnership Platform to include reviewing fines to identify unfair or counter-productive penalties.

The initiative aims to support the private sector, protecting its rights, reinforcing its relationship with the government sector, and elevating its contribution to the economy.

"Sharakah" could be used by the private sector and individuals seeking a social or education benefit (e.g., health insurance) who have filed a claim and not yet been reimbursed. – TradeArabia News Service