Seems to me that the heart of the problem is this somewhat unique situation found in the Emirates where the airline owner is also the Regulator . . . and the maintenance organization and the airport handlers. The analogy of the fox guarding the hen house comes to mind. Sure, in many countries airlines have working relationships that are a little too close for comfort with the Regulator (airline mousepad at the Inspector's computer, stuff like that . . . and that is just the beginning), however, there is a degree of separation simply lacking in the UAE.
The future will be interesting.