Abu Dhabi: Residents have the chance to become ‘inspectors’ by downloading the CityGuard free app on their smartphones. The app lets them communicate their complaints or suggestions straight to the government.
At a press conference on Wednesday, Rashid Lahej Al Mansouri, director-general of Abu Dhabi Systems and Information Centre, which is supervising the initiative, demonstrated how to use the CityGuard app.
The app enables users to send any pictures or videos to a contact centre that works with the designated body until the customer’s issue is resolved.
“A minute or so of finger tapping is all it takes to document an issue by taking a photo or recording a video or audio and reporting directly to the Abu Dhabi Contact Centre,” Al Mansouri said.
He encouraged the public to report any government-related issues from garbage on the road and dangerous potholes to transport and health issues.
Al Mansouri described the app as “one of the smartest ways to engage society”, adding that it gives flexibility for interaction between residents and the government.
“I think [the app] is one of the key components that the government uses to be more transparent because we need to hear from people, and by this, everybody who wants to use [the app] will be like an inspector of the government,” he told Gulf News.
On sending an issue to the contact centre via CityGuard, the authorities will follow up with the customer and reply within 48 hours. Users can track the progress of their report through the app, via the Abu Dhabi e-government website or by calling the contact centre.
Since the launch of the app a few months ago, there have been 1,500 cases reported, with 80 per cent being resolved and a customer satisfaction rate of 82 to 90 per cent.
The service, which is a first-of-its-kind in the region, is part of a wider move to having a smart-government.
The CityGuard app is available to download from www.abudhabi.ae for iTunes, Android, and BlackBerry, currently excluding BlackBerry 10 and Windows operating systems. It also has a built-in interactive map to pinpoint the location of the users and reported incident.
— Sarah Diaa is a trainee at Gulf News
