All Dubai government service centres to close for one day

Government service centres in Dubai will partially shut their doors next month in a bid to educate residents about the range of tasks that can be completed online.

UAE vice president and prime minister and Dubai’s ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum has approved the initiative dubbed “a day without service centres”, scheduled to take place on October 26.

Launched by the Department of Finance, the initiative aims to encourage customers to use the government’s smart channels – such as websites and smartphone apps – to complete everyday services and transactions.

On October 26, customer service centres would stop receiving customers with transactions that could be done via these smart channels, the Department of Finance said.

However, transactions that required presence in person would continue as usual. All normal operations would resume the following day.

Jamal Hamed Al Marri, executive director of Central Accounts Sector at the Department of Finance, said the initiative would be held annually.

“We are working with various government entities to coordinate efforts to prepare all customer segments for digital transformation, and encourage them to use e-pay, via smart phones or computers,” he said.

“I invite Dubai residents and visitors to use smart channels more often to complete government transactions, so it becomes part of the day-to-day cultural evolution, thus keeping up with the digital transformation drive in Dubai.”

Dubai has been working on transforming itself into one of the world’s smartest cities through a variety of initiatives across transport, communications, and economic services.

Read: Dubai government to end paper transactions in 2021 – Crown Prince