The Service Centre for the Elderly and People with Special Needs was inaugurated at the headquarters of the General Directorate of the Border Passports and Expatriates Affairs at Gharrafa district.
Elderly people and those with special needs in Qatar will have a special department at the Ministry of Interior (MoI) to assist them in processing their requests and documents free of charge.
The Service Centre for the Elderly and People with Special Needs was inaugurated this week at the headquarters of the General Directorate of the Border Passports and Expatriates Affairs (GDBPEA) at Gharrafa district.
Qatar Society for Rehabilitation of the People with Special Needs deputy chairman Rabeea bin Mohamed al-Kaabi attended the inauguration ceremony along with GDBPEA director general Brigadier Abdulla Salim al-Ali and Traffic Department director Brigadier Mohamed Saad al-Kharji.
Al-Ali pointed out that the centre would supervise the delivery of all related services and try to upgrade them in co-ordination with the other entities.
Al-Kaabi said MoI had been a pioneer in employing people with special needs and offering them easy access to its services.
“The centre will offer its services free of charge for such categories of people according to the Decision No 17 for 2008 of HE the Minister of State for Interior Affairs,” explained al-Ali.
He said the services included employment of the handicapped of different categories, emergency services 992 for the deaf and the “Amir” service, through which the department would provide an employee to process the requests and applications on behalf of the elderly.
The head of the centre, Fatma Tahir, said that its staff were specially trained in dealing with the targeted people and had the necessary equipment to deliver hassle-free services to them. She said the centre also aimed at providing training for GDBPEA employees of special needs on the job to facilitate their integration within the work environment. Further, it would conduct studies to get recommendations regarding the development of the services delivered.
The categories to be exempted from the charges, according to Law No 38 for 1955, include widows, divorced women, needy families, the handicapped, orphans, the elderly, families of prisoners and the lost, and those not fit for work. These services include issuance and renewal of passports, IDs, driving licences, registration of one vehicle and digital birth certificates.
A mobile unit providing MoI services and raising awareness among the public was launched at the ceremony.
Al-Kharji called the launching of MoI mobile services “an important accomplishment of the Ministry”. He pointed out that the public could access “MoI services on wheels” at different locations.
Dr Hayat Nazar, director of Al-Noor Institute, and Fatma Tahir, head of the centre, were present at the inauguration.
Source -
QatarChronicle
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