The Dubai Government's e-government portal will be launched on schedule next month, an official said on Saturday.
Director of E-Services for the online initiative, Salem Al Shair, said the precise date has not been confirmed yet but "will be between October 9 and 14," the Dubai-based Gulf News quoted him as saying.
"Everything is in place, including the security measures," he said.
Shair said the current international political atmosphere makes the issue of security even more crucial.
"We have the best possible measures in place. But even if you have the best lock in place, the thief will come in if a door is left open. So it is a cooperative effort to ensure the security of the system."
He said initially the portal will be launched with a few services which will expand in the following weeks.
"It will continually grow and expand, as each government department prioritizes the services it wants to put online," he said.
"Although some services just cannot be put on the portal, such as the issuance of a death certificate.
"E-governance is a continual process that will develop along with the needs of the public, for e-government is delivering customer-centric services, through efficient use of technology."
Shair was delivering a talk on e-government solutions at a workshop, attended by government representatives, information technology companies and e-commerce leaders.
The event was opened by Mohammed Al Gergawi, Director General of the Dubai Technology, Electronic Commerce and Media Free Zone Authority, said the paper.
At the conference, Shair focused on the need to build awareness among the public and the various organizations to prepare in the transition towards e-governance.
"There will always be resistance to change no matter what. So there has to be leadership and vision and it has to come from the top authority at any organization," he said.
The initiative aims at transforming the whole local government to a total modern digital government within a period of 18 months.
A Panel, the E-government Executive Committee, has been set up by Dubai Crown Prince Sheikh Mohamed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum to unify the information technology systems in all government departments in preparation for the introduction of the initiative – Albawaba.com
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