How the virtual day will be like on Oct 26
On ‘A Day without Service Centres’ all transactions will be stopped at the centres but will be available through smart channels. Abdul Rahman Saleh Al Saleh, director general of DoF
On October 26, service transactions provided by government entities in Dubai will be available only via smart channels.
The day will be titled “A Day without Service Centres” to encourage customers to use smart channels to pay fees and complete transactions and will be held annually.The Dubai Department of Finance (DoF) initiative – which was approved by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai; will see service centres across the emirate shut their doors and move into the ‘smart’ realm of the Internet and mobile phones.
Abdul Rahman Saleh Al Saleh, director general of DoF, said that the main message of the occasion is to educate the people of Dubai — Emiratis and expats alike — can conduct their day-today transactions through the myriad ‘smart’ services that the government has provided in recent years.
“Customer service centres will dedicate their efforts on Thursday, October 26, to spread awareness among customers of the importance of transformation to smart channels to complete transactions, whether via smart apps or the web. On that day, all transactions requiring payments will be stopped for one day at the centres but will remain available through all smart channels.”
Service transactions provided by many government entities on that day will be available only via smart channels, including ‘Dubai Now’ app and other government apps available for smart phones.
There will also be the webbased channels via computers, and centres will resume normal operations after that date.
Smart’ services help preserve environmental resources, cut down on fuel consumption and even reduce carbon emissions aside from saving time, effort and money and the eliminating the need to travel on oftencrowded roads and spending time at service centres.
Jamal Hamed Al Marri, executive director of the central accounts sector at DoF, said that the ultimate aim is to begin a transformation that will change the way people interact with the government on a daily basis. “I invite Dubai residents and visitors to use smart channels so it becomes part of the day-to-day cultural evolution, thus keeping up with the digital transformation drive in Dubai. We will announce the names of the centres and services that will be suspected on October 26, so that everybody will be ready to use smart channels on that day.”
reporters@khaleejtimes.com