Abu Dhabi: The Public Relations Officers (PROs) of the companies will soon be able to pick up the national ID card of their staff to avoid the delay in the delivery of the cards, a top official told Gulf News on Tuesday.
This is one of the steps as part of the redesigning of processing the ID card which will ensure delivering the card within ten days after the registration, Dr Ali Al Khoury, Director-General of Emirates ID, said on the sidelines of the Cards Middle East, the region's largest exhibition cum conference on cards, payment and ID exhibition for banks, government, telecoms and retailers.
The two day-event at Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre ends on Wednesday.
He said the redesigning of the process will be completed within two months and the cards will be printed within five days after the registration.
"The cards will be delivered to the applicants within another five days," he said.
The cards of 70 per cent of the applicants are printed within 5 days at the moment and handed over to the distribution companies, the official said.
He said the Emirates Post, the organisation providing postal services in the country, will have greater role in delivery of cards in the redesigned process.
The official's announcement on redesigning the process has come in the wake of complaints on inordinate delay in the delivery cards. As Gulf News reported several applicants complained that they did not receive the cards even after several weeks.
Al Khoury said the redesigned process will eliminate such complaints. "Even if there is a single complaint, we take it seriously; we want to give total satisfaction to our customers," he said.
Emirates Post is distributing about 50,000 cards a week and their wide network of post offices across the country has eased the distribution, he said.
The typing centres are reminding the applicants to give the post box number also in the application so that Emirates Post can send the card to that same post office and send a note to the post box to alert the applicants to collect the registered postal article [the card], he explained.
Since PROs are authorised to collect the postal articles coming to the post box of the companies, they will soon be authorised to collect ID cards of their staff also, the official said.
ID card to be mandatory
Those who did not register for ID cards may face certain inconvenience because the card will be mandatory for accessing more government services, Dr Ali Al Khoury, Director-General of Emirates ID, said.
Emirates ID is in touch with Traffic Departments in some emirates to make ID card mandatory for accessing their services, he said.
The card will also help the residents to access electronic services of the government and private sector soon, the officials said.
"Even cards can be used to pay certain government fees or fines online in future," Al Khoury said without elaborating.
As Gulf News reported earlier the Ministry of Interior had made the ID card mandatory for obtaining traffic services in Abu Dhabi, Ras Al Khaimah, Fujairah, Ajman and Umm Al Quwain.
Dubai and Sharjah will follow suit in near future, according to the official.
