"We will build on the positive aspects of the earlier period and we promise our partners to listen to them patiently, while we expect the mass media to play a concrete role in familiarizing the public with eServices." With these statements, Mr. Thani Abdullah Al Zaffin, Chief Executive Officer of Dubai eGovernment Department, has summarized the department's tendencies for the upcoming period in an interview with "e4all".

 Congratulations on being appointed as Chief Executive Officer of Dubai eGovernment Department. Please tell us what is the status of the department now.

 I humbly thank His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, and His Highness Sheikh Hamdan Bin Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and Chairman of Dubai Executive Council, for the decision to establish the department and for the trust bestowedon me. I ask God to help us perform our duties most efficiently to play our part in consolidating Dubai’s leading position.

 Let me take you back to the early phase of the Dubai eGovernment initiative when HH Sheikh Mohammed clearly defined the objective of this project, saying: “We must ease thelives of people and businesses interacting with the government and contribute in establishing Dubai as a leading economic hub.” The fulfillment of this objective actually necessitates all sections of the public to get government services smoothly and easily through multiple channels. 

Between the launch of www.dubai. ae with just a handful of services in 2001 and the provision of over 2,000 eServices now, the process of transformation towards eGovernment has been unstoppable. We were able to achieve many accomplishments and occupied a leading position among the countries that already had a headstart over us. Nevertheless, we believe we still have a lot of work to be done before we can fulfil the vision drawn by HH Sheikh Mohammed. Thus, the recent decision has put greater responsibilities on us and we must build on the achievements of the earlier period.

 How do you look at the level of your communication with the public earlier, and what are your plans to streamline it now?

 Communication with the public is critical, as the services that all departments are at targeted at them. A plan to communicate effectively with the public was at the top of the priorities of the executive team of Dubai eGovernment that was formed in 2000. I believe that we still have a long way to go and we must work diligently to achieve HH Sheikh Mohammed’s goals and at the same time ensure customer satisfaction in the delivery of public services.

 In the upcoming stage, we will exert greater effort to implement this vision of Dubai eGovernment Department, and this calls for more attention to people’s needs through a methodological plan focused on studying their viewpoints on our eServices as well as those of Dubai government departments, so that we are able to make them real partners in theelectronic transformation process. From our side, we promise our partners that we will listen to them patiently, and we will never nurse a grouse against those who point out our faults. We are confident of achievingour goals, because we incorporate negative feedback into our development process.

 Although the Dubai eGovernment Department has launched the unified contact centre “Ask Dubai” to serve all Dubai departments, some departments have not joined it yet. People still have to deal with scores of telephone numbers belonging to different contact centres. Is there any mechanism that will ensure that the rest of the departments join Ask Dubai?

   The unified contact centre “Ask Dubai” lies at the core of Dubai eGovernment Department’s vision, which is committed to “easing the lives of people and businesses interacting with the government.” This centre is a round-the-clock open line that allows the public to communicate with any member government department and inquire about any service or information related to its activity, in Arabic and English. 

The centre, which is regarded as a significant synergistic service, is unique for the provision of multiple channels that the public can use to submit their complaints or suggestions as regards eServices or receive answers to their queries. These channels include contact centre phone on 7000 40000, e-mail address هذا الإيميل محمي من السرقة في القوائم البريدية , تحتاج لدعم جافا سكريبت لمشاهدته , onlinechat on http://askdubai.dubai.ae and contact centre fax on 04-3303399.

 As many as 16 government departments are so far benefiting from the services of this centre. Some departments, however, believe that they provide so many services that they need sufficient staff to communicate with the public and answer their inquiries, while some others have special stipulations for joining the centre, a stand that is understandable. The upcoming stage will, God willing, see an objective assessment of the centre’s work,and the possibility of expanding its services will be studied after taking into consideration the requirements of our partner departments, departments’ customers and even visitors.  

What plan is the new department following to solve the problem of employment-related central database and provide a new service for online recruitment in Dubai Government departments? 

I must explain that the essence of the eJob service lies in having an integrated portal for jobs and not just serving as a bank for receiving CVs. Unfortunately, since it was launched by Dubai eGovernment Department in 2003, the eJob service has not been completely activated. The service, however, was revitalized during the Career UAE 2009, backed by a plan to promote the new portal.

 We have held many workshops to train nearly 20 representatives of Dubai Government departments on how to use the portal. These departments participated in the exhibition so that the event would make the portal the dominant channel for applying for jobs and the sole portal in Dubai government jobs in future. From a procedural viewpoint, it was agreed with the departments that all the vacancies available with them would be listed onlythrough the portal.

  What is eJob distinguished for? 

The portal of www.ejob.ae is regarded as a unified platform that allows job seekers and new graduates to explore the job opportunities available in all the government departments in Dubai and apply by sending their CV and track their applications online. On the other hand, the government departments can view all the applications online and benefit from a unified database. 

By registering in the service once, the applicants' job applications reach all government departments at the same time, while the advanced search engine sends tips on the existing job opportunities through several options, including e-mail, SMS or mobile phone etc. This advanced service helps minimize effort as well as the expenses involved in travelling to the departments for submitting job applications. 

 The eJob service allows our department to search for the right candidates by accessing the central database, which includes the CV of the applicants. By virtue of this service, we can also communicate directly with the lists of candidates who have applied for the jobs. This advanced service is expected to contribute to facilitating and expediting the operations related to announcing vacancies and selecting the suitable candidates. Most importantly, the portal allows users to apply, not only for the existing vacancies but for all the jobs available in the departments, with the vacant posts being highlighted, therebyleading to a central database of CVs to be established for use when needed. The advanced portal is distinguished for the possibility of communicating with employers – including departments. or institutions – to notify them that there are qualified people to fill vacancies. Besides, preparations are on to link the portal with universities and private employment agencies in a bid to make the portal beneficial to all users. 

 What message would you like to convey to the department's partners?

 My first message is to customers, the target of our eServices. I want to tell them they can conduct most government transactions online, without visiting departments. I am confident that they will save a lot of time, effort and money. 

I would like the public to communicate with us offering comments and opinions on our services through the contact centre "Ask Dubai" or through the portal www.dubai.ae. 

My second message is to businesses. I wish to tell them that we welcome their interaction with us at Dubai eGovernment Department and we are open to suggestions. We promise to do our utmost to meet their requirements as we strive to provide top-class services through innovative channels. We also promise to remove all obstacles that block or impede any access to eServices.

 My third message is to the mass media, particularly the national media. I want to remind them that they are in a position to play a key role in contributing to realising the strategic objectives of Dubai government in general and Dubai eGovernment Department in particular. They must also play a concrete role in helping raise people’s awareness of eServices that are already available. Our offices are open for all and we are prepared to answer all your inquiries.

 My last message is to the private sector. I have to state that many of their eServices have not yet lived up to the standard required by the electronic transformation led by DubaieGovernment Department. The private sector is our partner and we are extending our hands to all, including banks, telecommunication companies or providers of Internet services, ePay portals and eCommerce. They are all invited to integrate with our services and remain in parallel with us, because total eGovernment can exist only when there is full integration between the government and the private sector.