Dubai: A comprehensive portal will be launched next week, unifying all federal and local e-government entities under one umbrella.
The new url, www.government.ae, will officially be launched at Gitex on Sunday, Salem Khamis Al Shair Al Suwaidi, Director General, General Information Authority (GIA) told Gulf News.
It is being developed in line with the UAE Government Strategy 2011-2013, with its emphasis on unity.
"It is united in all aspects — united in presenting the UAE as one entity rather than seven emirates, and communicating with the constituents: be it local constituents, people living in the UAE, businesses and individuals or people coming from abroad. It is one portal that represents the UAE, so we're united in terms of our service delivery channel," Al Suwaidi said.
E-government portals for respective emirates will not shut down but be unified under the new portal.
"What we are saying is that we are bringing an umbrella along the top, through which you'll be able to access all the services provided by either the local e-government portals, or the departments that fall under those portals, and on top of that you'll have the federal government services that are currently provided by the concerned ministries and councils and authorities," Al Suwaidi said.
One password
Users will eventually be able to log in with one user name and password, instead of visiting each and every entity's website with different login information.
The federal portal will comprise services provided by both federal and local entities. It will be unifying approximately 50 entities, ministries, authorities and councils.
"The purpose of the portal is first of all to represent the UAE," Al Suwaidi said, continuing that there are several unique aspects to the new site.
General information about the UAE will be present, for both residents and visitors to the Emirates.
For example, information for tourists seeking a visit visa or events being held in the UAE during their stay will be available, as well as specific information about each emirate.
Web 2.0 tools are another special feature — from social networks to wikis — including an evaluation rating service in the form of "pearls" instead of stars, to fit with the heritage of the UAE. A comment/feedback feature will also be present, routed to the concerned service provider — either local or federal entity — so users will be able to say how much they did or didn't like the service they received.
Users will also be able to build their own portfolio online. For example, when you log in to the new site, e-mails from various e-mail service providers will appear on one screen, so users do not have to log in separately for each and every service provider.
A "service basket" will collect frequently-used services, to make access easier. Social networking and blogs, etc will also be collated in this manner.
In order to make locating government entities easy, a Government directory is being set up. It will include addresses and locations.
Interactive map
The entities will be entered on an interactive map, which will be expanded to include hospitals, police stations, civil defence stations and Metro stations, etc.
A user searching for services in Sharjah, for example, will be able to use the map, select a service and search within the emirate.
Al Suwaidi said the launch is only the beginning and the challenge is to maintain up-to-date information.
Work on the portal will be continuous, he said, as "information changes, services change. Some services will be phased out, some services will be born. So it is a continuous task. It is a portal that should exist as long as the technology is there for people to access government services," he said.
New process: Use of ID cards
Registration on the new portal will be able to be completed with the Emirates ID card in the future. "This is our first step into very comprehensively utilising the ID cards," Al Suwaidi said.
Government departments will then be able to pull data straight from the Emirates Identity Authority (Eida). This means that users will not have to physically visit several different ministries or government departments with their passports and other valuable documentation.
Process: Quick set-up
The GIA has developed an application for government departments, to establish websites and an intranet within 48 hours, without bearing the cost of development or operation, hardware or software.
"All they have to do is take the software, it's a kind of wizard, and then they can add their content, change the look and feel to whatever suits them as long as it's within the guidelines of our website standards and that's it... they're in the market in no time, and they have their internet," Al Suwaidi said.
Use of ID cards
Registration on the new portal will be able to be completed with the Emirates ID card in the future. "This is our first step into very comprehensively utilising the ID cards," Al Suwaidi said.
Government departments will then be able to pull data straight from the Emirates Identity Authority (Eida). This means that users will not have to physically visit several different ministries or government departments with their passports and other valuable documentation.
