e-Government services show huge increase

Dubai: Dubai e-Government has announced that there has been a significant increase in adoption of electronic services in 2009 compared to the previous year as it continues to focus on enhancing service quality, expanding automation of government services and sustaining the electronic transformation of the government.

It has further revealed that the positive results reflect the success of the projects and initiatives launched by the Department in 2009 in coordination with other Dubai Government departments.

Recent statistics show that a total of Dh1.5 billion was collected from 1.4 million transactions that were processed in 2009 using Dubai e-Government's electronic payment gateway, which is a secure and reliable platform for online payments. This means an increase of Dh500 million from the previous year in which Dubai e-Government collected Dh1 billion from around 1 million transactions.

The increase was achieved despite the fact that the number of departments adopting the electronic payment gateway in 2009 remained the same at 22.

Time saver

The payment service allows customers, whether an individual, company or department, to process payments through three methods: credit cards, e-Dirham and direct debit from the customer's account, greatly saving time and effort while helping reduce long queues in government departments.

Ahmad Bin Humaidan, Director-General, Dubai e-Government, said: "Our strategy is to establish a centralised platform in providing e-services as we are strongly committed to support the gradual digital transformation of the UAE.

"This strategy assists government departments in providing services in a smooth, easy and effective manner. It also strengthens communication and collaboration among government departments in Dubai, with the understanding that each department plays an important role in satisfying the needs and requirements of customers. The positive results of 2009 reflect the trust and confidence of the public in Dubai eGovernment."

The number of government departments participating in the e-Survey service, which electronically reviews public opinion regarding the services by government departments, has increased to 35 departments in 2009 compared to 29 in 2008.

Furthermore, the total number of respondents who took part in the survey grew fourfold from 6,500 in 2008 to more than 27,000 in 2009.

Growth

There has been an increase in the volume of messages that were sent and received through the m-Dubai service, with an estimated 10 million notifications sent in 2009 compared with 3.25 million messages in 2008.

On the other hand, the total number of incoming calls received through the "Ask Dubai" service has increased, reaching more than 200,000 calls in 2009 compared with around 162,000 in 2008.

Electronic facility

• 22 departments using electronic gateway
• 35 departments participated in e-Survey service
• 10m notifications sent through m-Dubai service