On the threshold
of transformation
Dr. Ali Mohammed Al-Khouri
Emirates ID Director General
In
light of today’s digital revolution and
the rapid changes in technology,
most governments face a common chal-
lenge which is the high expectations of the
‘global citizen’ in terms of government ser-
vices.
The UAE has been at the forefront in keep-
ing up with the rapid changes in technol-
ogy to build its eGovernment and then its
“mGovernment”. The target was the same;
bringing happiness to the society.
Perhaps the UAE Vision 2021 was the
starting point towards adopting an ambi-
tious and advanced strategy to build a
‘digital government’ that works 24/7; a gov-
ernment that is close to the people and al-
lows them to communicate with it through a
single platform anytime anywhere.
This project faced the challenge most
countries face in their transformation to-
wards eGovernment and mGovernment
which is establishing a ‘single window’ that
provides easy and innovative services es-
pecially through mobile phones and the
Internet. Citizens no longer seek the ser-
vices; services are now delivered to them.
Long before the beginning of the third
millennium, the UAE had realized the im-
portance of interconnectivity among gov-
ernment entities in providing high quality
services and the importance of a modern
infrastructure for advanced identity man-
agement.
While many developed countries face dif-
ficulties in identity authentication through
digital networks, the UAE stands confi
-
dent and ambitious at the threshold of a
qualitative transformation towards “mGov
-
ernment”. It relies on an integrated infra-
structure that protect both institutions and
individuals.
The Population Register developed by the
Emirates Identity Authority and the smart
ID card will help government entities over-
come the challenge of identity authentica-
tion (remotely). It will enhance the business
and service models of public and private
sectors while ensuring highest levels of
security and privacy using various verifica
-
tion techniques such as biometric features,
digital certificates, passwords and digital
signature.
Despite the positive signs, government
entities have to shoulder great responsibili-
ties and need more concerted efforts and
visions and traditional frameworks should
be eliminated in order to ensure govern-
ment efficiency.
It’s important to emphasize the need to
focus more on concepts of development
based on scientific research as they will
contribute in the success of horizontal and
vertical connectivity and integration among
government systems. The hierarchical
structure in the government or private sec-
tors is no longer useful. Entities should
also adopt Continuous Organizational
Learning in order to build individual capa-
bilities of their human capital to be able to
achieve their targets and improve their per-
formance and services.
The aspiration of our leadership to embody
mGovernment and the race against time
to achieve this target go beyond develop-
ing government services with an electronic
touch. The goal is to radically change the
ways the public sector works and enable
it to compete with and even surpass the
private sector through getting rid of the
stagnant ideas and launching systematic
approaches to shake out the traditional
practices that cannot keep up with the
modern age. The aim to achieve sustain-
ability and dynamic solutions at all levels.
The shift towards mGovernment is the fruit
of a wise vision rich with concepts and am-
bitions that understand realities and antici-
pate the future with confidence and hope.
It seeks to enable a knowledge and digital
economy in order to improve the quality of
life of the UAE people in all fields and pro
-
vide quality services to establish the fact
that we are one of “the happiest countries
in the world.”
