The study placed Dubai's online availability of basic public services at 76.4 per cent, against Finland's 76 per cent. Further, the online percentages of basic public services provided to businesses stood at 85.2 per cent and to individuals at 67.7 per cent. The study also revealed that 66.7 per cent of the basic services provided by Dubai's free zones to their partners were available online.
Salem Al Shair, director eServices, Dubai eGovernment, said: "The recognition earned by Dubai eGovernment in different surveys and studies, both local and international, is a reward for the hard work the eGovernment team has put in over the past two years. It is no small achievement to outperform the highly advanced European countries which have had a headstart of several years."
The online business services included visas, local fees collection, engineering services, company registration, legal services, customs declarations, environment-related permits, public procurement and free zones establishment. The online services covered in the community category were job search, payment of utility bills, car registration, declaration to the police, public libraries, birth & marriage certificates, enrolment in higher education and health-related services.
"The objective of providing online services through the Net is now being extended further by channels like mDubai, which makes use of mobile devices to reach customers. We are aggressively working toward motivating the community to acquire greater competency in computers through special online and classroom learning. In this regard, our e4all project is helping thousands of people hone their computer skills with the help of competitive packages."
The 'online percentage' of a service is determined by the extent to which it is possible to carry out a service electronically.
Quelle: MENAFN, 07.01.2004
