This should be a week of celebration for the UAE when it comes to e-Services. After all, it has just been named as one of the world’s top countries in terms of e-government readiness, by the United Nations' “e-Government Readiness Report.”
This doesn’t bode very well for the Dubai government’s deadline of ensuring that 50% of all transactions carried out by the public are done online by 2007. It is one thing to set a deadline of putting 90% of government services online by 2007 — the real question is who will use them?
Right now, 84% of government services are available online, but usage is a poor 20%. As Al Shair himself says, “There are not as many users as we would like there to be.”
Maybe the Dubai government should look closer at its many e-government success stories. Of the 350 plus services available, the most popular has been the application for medical certificates.
In other words, services that do not involve paying significant amounts of money through the internet. Apart from traffic fines, few other payment facilities are used. It is clear, as Al Shair himself now admits, that there may be a serious lack of trust. It is one thing to download a form on the net, another to hand over your credit card and bank details. There is no reason for such a lack of trust. The site for the payment of traffic fines is proof of this. What is needed is a strong marketing and awareness campaign, to assure users that it is safe and secure. Otherwise, even the best designed and easiest to use website is of little use.
Autor: Ken Campbell
Quelle: ITP Technology, 01.01.2006
