Dubai government to revamp e-Government services for improving economy

Dubai: Top government officials yesterday said a new plan to overhaul the nation's e-government services would make the UAE economy more competitive and improve transparency.

The Ministry of Government Sector Development signed an agreement with Dubai eGovernment to simplify and streamline online services throughout the seven emirates, under the umbrella of the Federal Government. The project is considered one of the first following the announcement of the UAE Strategy Plan in April, which among other things called for the strengthening of e-government programmes.

Shaikha Lubna Al Qasimi, UAE Minister of Economy, said the plan aims to strengthen partnerships with local governments and improve the flow of information between these agencies and the federal government. "I'm very optimistic that within two years there will be better delivery of information than there is today," she said.She acknowledged that experiences in accessing government services still vary from one emirate to the next.

Shaikha Lubna also said government ministries often find it difficult to quickly access information on companies and organisations that was collected by other government agencies. In addition, the UAE's international competitiveness rankings have been adversely affected because economic figures had been collected but not shared and distributed by governmental sources, the minister added.

The e-government project will address all these areas for improvement, she said, and in the process reduce the response times for critical services, which include registering for company licences. The initiative will be spearheaded by IBM's consulting division, which did not disclose the value of the contract.

The entire project could last five years or more. Initially, work will focus on improving e-services for health, immigration and labour. "I like to say this project will be like a transparent tunnel, so that everybody will be able to see and access information in the UAE," said Sultan Bin Saeed Al Mansouri, Minister of Government Sector Development.

"This is one of the most challenging e-government visions in the Arab world, if not the entire world, and will further diversify the UAE economy," Al Mansouri added.

Source : Gulfnews