Poor-tal response
This is rather a sad story. Dubai eGovernment has been making a big effort over the last couple of years to put government services online, for the convenience of residents and government departments alike. But it seems that while the b2b side is going well, b2c response has been very disappointing:
“Although we have succeeded in attracting companies to use online services the response is not as good as expected especially from individuals who still fear using online services,” said Salem Khamis Al Shair, Services Director at Dubai eGovernment.
Al Shair said Dubai was aiming to have a virtual government system with no barriers or red tape, but the poor response from users was hampering the initiative.
It is surprising that in a city where it is literally impossible to get to many government offices due to traffic, timings and lack of parking that people aren’t making better use of the online services.
The address for Dubai eGovernment is Dubai.ae. Services include everything from bill and traffic fine payment to statistics, complaints forms and visa information. Interestingly, nearly half of the 500-odd people taking the online poll; “Do you feel secure using online payments?” said yes. So why the lack of use of online services? Apathy? Ignorance?
Maybe its because …. you cannot just pay online. It is either a standing debit order (and then you know if a mistake is made by the utility accounts dept, you will fight forever), or there is a service charge when you pay by credit card, which they do not disclose. Dont get taken for a ride with this one. Like the service charges that apply when you buy tickets to a concert. What service??
Why cant they just allow your bank account to list the account number of the receiving party as a beneficiary and then you can do it straight from the account. Why must things be so difficult?
I have no clue. Etisalat is the same – their epayment system is useless, compared with someone like DEWA that isn’t even a telco. I must blog this.