When Dubai eGovernment was launched in 2001, there were sceptics who doubted the benefits and future of such an initiative. However, Dubai has been blessed with a visionary leader who decided to reformulate the working model of the government to build cost-effective, easy-to-access government institutions in a city that has become a model of welfare and prosperous living.

 Experience has proven the soundness of the vision of such an inspired leader, His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, may God protect him. On 11th March, 2009, His Highness announced his decision establishing the Dubai eGovernment Department.

 Dubai eGovernment is over seven years old now and we are still committed to our original mission: “To ease the lives of people and businesses interacting with the government and contribute to establishing Dubai as a leading economic hub.” 

The people concerned with electronic transformation in all Dubai’s government departments have faced many challenges and have made formidable achievements in getting closer to that virtual government where queues at counters are reduced to a minimum and a stage of paperless departments is given momentum. 

What has been achieved so far would not have been possible without the combined efforts of all Dubai’s government departments and institutions. Our relentless efforts paid off when the sponsor of the initiative, His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid AlMaktoum, issued, on 11th March, 2009, a decree establishing the “Dubai eGovernment Department” and empowering it to determine the general strategy of the eGovernment, lead and supervise the eTransformation process at the government authorities level, develop the frameworks, policies and standards for the IT Division and its security, provide eServices and manage knowledge and human capital as per the world’s best practices. 

We have reason to be proud of such trust. At the same time, it is a big responsibility. We have to continuously exert efforts to prove we are worthy of this confidence. Based on this, all staff are required to start a new phase of accommodating the tasks of the new Department. Besides, all the achievements of the previous period should be employed to ensure integration among the different systems and services of departments, so thatcustomers will not have to visit more than one department to complete his/her transaction. 

While the achievements are worthy of this honour reflected in this decree, we still have a lot of work to do. It is our destiny to be at the forefront, as His Highness always wants us to. We have to be creative and devise new solutions in order to present a successful model of an eGovernment that can be adopted by our brothers in the Arab world.