Residents' queries clog EIDA networks

Dubai: Several residents who went to register for the new identity card on Wednesday had to return with their mission unfinished as the Emirates Identity Authority's (EIDA) networks were overwhelmed following the unexpected rush caused by the announcement of the two-month deadline.

Rana Hassan, a Palestinian secretary, stayed over two hours trying to get through to the call centre to enquire about the procedures without success.

"It is frustrating to spend so much time trying to find information especially that they gave a short period for so many people to obtain these cards," she said.

Mohammad Omar, a Sharjah resident, said that he tried to access their website throughout the day. "The question is why do they give us so little time and they do not even prepare for the rush," he said.

Officials at the authority admitted that their networks were overwhelmed by a flood of enquiries.

Overloaded

Thamer Rashid Al Qasimi, Planning Director at the Authority, said the rush from the public yesterday overloaded their website and call centre and caused interruptions of services. "Hundreds of thousands contacted us today to enquire about registration procedures," said Al Qasimi.

Ninety-seven per cent of the Authority's network capacity was in use yesterday which made the website inaccessible, according to Al Qasimi, adding that the network capacity will double from Thursday.

However, Al Qasimi assured that the Authority is able to accommodate for the large number of applicants in these two months and no alternation will be made in processing and delivery timings. It around 15 minutes to submit the application and 48 hours to get the identity card delivered, according to the Authority.

"We have the resources needed to ensure the flow in the registration process and we meet every week to discuss our enrolment policies. So, we will increase our capacity in accordance to our needs," said Al Qasimi.

Currently, the Authority is able to issue 7,000 cards per day and the number is open for review. There are around 400 people working in their 28 centres across the country.

However, a certain modification of rules will be applied during December to ensure that they can provide services for all applicants, according to Al Qasimi.

For example, no advance appointment bookings will be allowed during December. Only walk-in appointments will be accepted and representatives from the Authority will no longer be able to come to company premises to register the employees.

Current capacity of main registration centres across the country, per day:

Abu Dhabi

- Al Mushraf : 700 applications

-Al Ain: 550 applications

Dubai

--Al Barsha: 450-500 applications

--Al Rashidiya: 450-500 applications

--Al Karama: 450-500 applications