His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, Sunday went on surprise visits to some local government departments. Morning visits to government offices are part of a long tradition by Shaikh Mohammad who is well known for his early-morning excursions to see firsthand how these departments are doing and ensure government services are up to Dubai’s globally-admired standards. In a video tweeted by Dubai Media Office, Shaikh Mohammad was the only person seen in offices of a workplace which had his framed portrait hanging on the wall behind a glass-topped desk. After the municipality, the sheikh visited Dubai international airport, the land department and the department of economic development. محمد بن راشد يقوم بجولة ميدانية ت�?قدية على الدوائرالحكومية بدبي صباح اليوم #دبي pic.twitter.com/RR9pPqaE7g— Dubai Media Office (@DXBMediaOffice) August 28, 2016 
 
 “He certainly wanted to send a message,’’ Mona Al Merri, director-general of Dubai Media Office, was quoted by Bloomberg as saying. “Timeliness starts at the top and we won’t go after employees when their bosses aren’t there.’’ 
 
 The footage of the Vice-President visiting those offices went instantly viral on social media. In a statement, published by various local media, UAE Vice President and Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, who is also the ruler of Dubai, “expressed his appreciation” to the nine executives over their past efforts, “wishing them success.” 
 
 The statement also described Sheikh Mohammed’s move as a way to reflect his “keenness to allow a new generation of young leaders to shoulder the responsibility of development in the next period.” 
 
 All the executive directors were former employees at Dubai Municipality.
– Senior government officials in the United Arab Emirates chose a bad day to be late for work on Sunday. Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid paid a surprise visit to Dubai's municipality, land, and economic development departments starting at 7:30am Sunday—a regular working day in the UAE—and found several bosses not at their desks, per the National. A short video posted to Twitter shows the PM walking through one office without encountering a soul. And he wasn't in a forgiving mood. Sheikh Mohammed—who is actually well-known for his surprise inspections, reports the Gulf News—announced Monday that nine senior officials would be forced to retire, including the executive director of legal affairs. "He certainly wanted to send a message," says a rep for Dubai's Media Office. "Timeliness starts at the top and we won't go after the employees when their bosses aren't there." The office adds that the move reflects Sheikh Mohammed's "keenness to allow a new generation of young leaders to shoulder the responsibility of development in the next period," per Al Arabiya. (The UAE also wants to build a mountain—to control the weather.)