We build upon the
successes of Abu
Dhabi and Dubai
eGovernments and
began where others
have left off
Rashid Al Maktoum launched the
mGovernment project, he stressed
that all federal and local government
entities in the UAE must provide their
services through smart phones and
swiftly shift from eGovernment to
mGovernment in 24 months. TRA
has developed a roadmap to imple-
ment the initiative in two years. The
Plan was devised after studying local
needs, global best practices and ob-
jectives to be achieved.
The Plan encompasses developing
the necessary infrastructure with the
federal government IT network in the
heart of it. There will be an mGovern-
ment innovation centre, a unit for se-
cure services, training and capacity
building programmes, an awareness
programme, a system to follow-up
overall implementation and a mecha-
nism to measure mService maturity.
mServices will be rolled out gradu-
ally according to priorities. Services
that benefit a wide range of people
and most used services will be given
priority. Less used services will be
transformed at a later stage.
Is the timeframe realistic given
that such a major project requires
a lot of time for preparation?
The UAE has had a proven record
of overcoming time obstacles and
achieving miracles. God has blessed
this country – since its foundation 42
years ago – with loyal leaders close
to the people and their aspirations.
They believe that there’s no room for
the word “impossible” in a country
where the people and the Govern-
ment exchange love, loyalty, belong-
ing and sincere work. That’s why, I
think the timeframe is sufficient to ac-
complish this project.
Have you considered benefiting
from other proven experiences?
When we embarked on implement-
ing the mGovernment initiative, it
was natural to begin where others
left off. We benchmarked best prac-
tices and communicated with other
governments around the world. We
visited South Korea, one of the most
advanced countries in eGovernment
and mGovernment. We got famil-
iar with the full context of systems,
procedures and programmes in the
mGovernment environment in addi-
tion to the challenges they faced.
Local eGovernments have their
experiences in this field. Is there
any cooperation with them?
The mGovernment initiative builds
on the successes of local eGov-
ernments, especially in Abu Dhabi
and Dubai. The two have achieved
remarkable successes in serving
large segment of users. When we
add the successful experiences of
federal entities in their transforma-
tion towards eGovernment, we have
developed foundations for the first
mGovernment which will see light by
the deadline set by our prudent lead-
ership, God willing.
What is the budget allocated for
this project?
Funding is one of the most power-
ful elements in implementing such
projects. The ICT Fund, an initia-
tive by TRA, has allocated sufficient
resources to fulfill the needs of the
mGovernmen initiative and the Gov-
ernment IT Network. It had also
financed the Smart Learning Pro-
gramme, one of the foundations of
mGovernment.
ICT Fund has allocated 200 million
dirhams to support the mGovern-
ment initiative which will be used to
develop its basic components.
In your opinion, what is the return
on investment of this major proj-
ect?
Due to their nature, mGovernment
projects are long-term projects. Ex-
periences and global studies confirm
that they will have considerable ROI,
not only in terms of global competi-
tiveness, but also in various areas
such as promoting eCommerce, rais-
ing satisfaction levels of government
services and encouraging invest-
ments.
Is there an initial estimate of the job
opportunities that will be created?
And how will the Plan be reflected
on other economic sectors?
It’s too early to talk about estimates
and numbers. Yet, mGovernment
is committed to supporting Emirati
graduates and entrepreneurs in or-
der to build national skills and com-
petencies who can serve mGovern-
ment projects.
TRA has started implementing a
plan at national universities to en-
sure Emirati graduates are equipped
with the necessary skills to fulfill the
mGovernment requirements.
Some believe that mGovernment
will replace eGovernment. How
correct is this statement?
mGovernment is an extension to
eGovernemnt and doesn’t replace it.
Providing services via smart phones
doesn’t mean we stop providing
them electronically or at government
offices. One of the tasks of a modern
government is to have all the chan-
nels open and accessible. The ob-
jective is to open more channels not
to close the available ones.
What has been achieved four
months after launching the initia-
tive?
Four months is relatively a short
time. Yet, we can say that we have
achieved a lot because we’ve dealt
with the issue of time as one of the
challenges we know how to handle
well.
The first task before us was to devel-
op a two-year roadmap. Four months
later, we have a clearer vision of the
path towards realizing the mGovern-
ment. Now, we believe more in the
saying of His Highness Sheikh Mo-
hammed, “As long as the vision is
clear, the objectives can be easily
achieved.”
Because work sites are distributed
across government entities in the dif-
ferent emirates, it was necessary to
find a reference that would unify con-
cepts, adjust work rhythms, achieve
the highest degree of coordination
and integration and respond to vari-
ous enquiries related to government
apps and mServices in terms of us-
ability, interaction, look and feel, etc.
11
Issue 1
October
2013
