E-Governance Initiative in UAE Government
Assignment:
Select E-Governance initiative (Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Sharjah, Ajman , RAK. UAE federal Gov.)
What is e-government and e-governance strategy?
Opportunities and threats.
Define their concept to e-governance
What type of e-Governance do we want (need)
The match between the wants and the needs
E-Governance and context
E-Governance issues
E-Governance challenges
Focus on enterprise capabilities
Word limit: 3500-4000
Note: Enterprise Capabilities are:
1- Infrastructure and processes
2- People and partners
3- Organization and culture
4- Leadership and governance
Solution
Introduction
The advancement of technology is an issue of centrality in the world as different
countries and regions are adopting Information Technology Systems in their governance. The
same case is mirrored by the UAE which has ensured that its governance incorporates
Information Technology. According to Tripathi & Parihar (2011), over the years, the government
has invested heavily in technology to ensure the provision of high-quality governance and
services to her citizens. Concomitantly, it is imperative to understand that UAE’s vision 2021
encourages the government to adopt the IT infrastructure (Tripathi & Parihar, 2011). Moreover,
the ambition of UAE to reduce its dependency on oil as the backbone of the economy requires
the implementation of IT as one of the infrastructures. This has promoted e-governance in the
country, in addition, this has trickled down to sheikhdoms, for example, Abu Dhabi, Dubai,
Ajman and Fujairah among others. The e-governance is a recent design that governments offer
services to her citizens and businesses. According to Tripathi & Parihar (2011), the adoption of
e-governance in the UAE is explained in four categories e-governance promotion, e-governance
infrastructure, e-governance infrastructure and information. This paper expounds on e-
governance in the UAE government by looking at e-governance strategy, opportunities and
threats, concept of e-governance, issues, challenges, issues and enterprise capabilities.
E-government and e-governance strategy
E-government is considered one of the recent Information Technology and
Communication (ICT) Systems incorporated by governments in public sector, the private
organization and business. As aforementioned, e-governance results from the advancement in
technology which allows government to adopt Information Technology Systems enable it to
E-GOVERNANCE INITIATIVE IN THE UAE GOVERNMENT 4
conduct operations efficiently (Tripathi & Parihar, 2011). The e-government provides a platform
for the people and business to interact with the government. Moreover, the integration of
Information Technology in government brings about a paradigm shift where the social and
political power are used and organized differently. Firstly, the government has to ensure that it
understands the definition of e-governance before incorporating its strategies. The adoption of e-
government involves the stakeholders, for example, businesses and citizens (Athmay, 2015).
Therefore, it is important for the organization definitions of e-government to correspond to
government definition to ensure they share both components. E-government should also include
the citizens since they are the main beneficiaries and customers of e-governance (Alrishidi,
2012).
Secondly, the e-governed should incorporate a vision and mission which will enable the
government to achieve its goals. The vision and the mission provides a platform for the
stakeholders to understand what the government aspires and plans to do. The government should
ensure that the mission and the vision are simple and easily understood by the stakeholders
(Athmay, 2015). The government should ensure that it is able to monitor the e-governance goals;
furthermore, it should ensure that they are measurable. Readiness is another strategy that the
government should ensure is in place so as to absorb Information Technology Systems and at the
same time provide services efficiently. According to Madichie & Al Athmay (2013), the
government should prioritize initiatives regarding e-governance to ensure that its incorporation
in the government runs smoothly. The e-government should also include sustainable business
initiatives to ensure that the program is applicable at different operation levels.
Opportunities for e-government
E-GOVERNANCE INITIATIVE IN THE UAE GOVERNMENT 5
The e-government creates a platform to provide efficient and high quality services to the
citizens. The e-government involves computer systems which make it easy to access information
about a particular individual, their payments of a particular service or application and
requirement. The ability to access this information from a central system makes it possible for
the government to provide services at a faster rate without interruptions from issue like los of
document (Almarabeh & AbuAli, 2010). Furthermore, the services take a short time hence
making it possible for stakeholders to conduct business with the government. The efficiency of
the services increases the chance of the government to conduct business with more investors
hence increasing the national income. According (Almarabeh & AbuAli, 2010), satisfaction is an
issue of centrality during the provision of services. The inclusion of e-governance makes this
possible as more people are able to access the services at a faster rate. The improvement of
services is an opportunity that the government of UAE has enjoyed since the implementation of
E-governance.
The incorporation of e-government to conduct a country business makes it easy for the
government to incorporate more programs. The government involves many programs that require
close monitoring, for example, poverty eradication programs and implementation of new policies
in learning institutions. The integration of e-governance creates the opportunity for the
government to handle different programs at the same time without fail (Almarabeh & AbuAli,
2010). Currently, the UAE is promoting its 2021 agendas and vision by aligning them with
different activities. Multi tasking is one of the advantages brought by e-governance; the
government is able to handle multiple projects at the same time with little or no interference.
Access to information is another opportunity that the e-governance presents once the
Information Technology is integrated. Information is a vital entity in ensuring the continuity of
E-GOVERNANCE INITIATIVE IN THE UAE GOVERNMENT 6
an organization or a country. The adoption of e-governance makes it possible for the UAE
government to share information with its citizens with much less difficulty. The e-governance
creates a platform for the government to create portal that one can access information about a
particular service and payments. According to Madichie & Al Athmay (2013), the ease of
accessing information is fundamental to the growth and development of a country since it gives
the necessary institution to get the funds on time. As mentioned earlier, e-governance involves
Information Technology Systems that allows the interaction of citizens at the national level. The
website provided through the incorporation of e-citizen makes it possible for the citizens and
businesses to conduct their transactions without difficulty (Madichie & Al Athmay, 2013). The
government is able to share information about its projects without difficulty by presenting it on
the website. The e-governance provides a platform for the citizens to ask questions and get
answers without difficulty of major follow-ups. The e-governance provides a platform for the
citizens to have transparency by checking some of the budget for particular products.
Furthermore, e-governance facilitates accountability as citizens are able to questions extra
expenditures beyond the budget.
The involvement of e-governance makes it possible for the citizens to participate in
governance. As aforementioned, the incorporation of e-governance provides an opportunity for
the citizens to interact with the government through asking questions. The platform allows the
government to answer the questions without delays hence increasing the citizens’ confidence in
their system. The UAE is considered as leading country in MENA region to adopt Information
Technology Systems in it governance. This increased the probability of the country to interact
with its citizens, therefore, addressing more of their issues. The e-government is able to provide
user friendly services which make it possible for the citizens to get assistance through the portal
E-GOVERNANCE INITIATIVE IN THE UAE GOVERNMENT 7
or the website. Furthermore, the e-governance provides the Emiratis with an opportunity to
report injustices, lack of transparency. The involvement of the citizens in monitoring most of the
government projects and activities makes increases the chances of the government to achieve its
set objectives. The e-governance provides a platform for the country to enhance its security since
administrators and government administrators have access to legal files and information.
Threats associated with E-governance
Despite the advantages and benefits associated with e-governance there are some issues
that threaten to reduce its effectiveness. Data management is one of the issues that threaten e-
governance since the system allows the government to store large volumes of data (Dawes,
2008). At times data is lost and this present challenges to the management of the system. The e-
governance contains most of the information about the citizens, for example, the payment, credit
card, names and date. This may reduce the level of privacy hence threatening the benefits of e-
governance. There are at times when the system alters the data, for example, during ‘mashups’
hence making it impossible for the government to trace the original data. This may result in
losses on the side of the citizen or the government hence threatening the stability of adopting e-
governance.
The protection of information and security is another challenge facing e-governance.
Currently there are cyber criminals and hackers who go a loan way to ensure that they are able to
access the government system. The accesses to the e-government system result in access to
private information about the citizens or loss of data. This is a thereat since the access to private
information may result in a citizen losing his privacy or access to their previous information.
There are citizens who use their credit cards to pay for cervices and when hackers are able to
E-GOVERNANCE INITIATIVE IN THE UAE GOVERNMENT 8
access information about their accounts puts them in a vulnerable position. According to Dawes
(2008), the protection of electronic documents is tiresome and difficult and the government has
to invest expensively to ensure that they are able to protect the citizens’ information. This is a
challenge to e governance as it tries to find a way to reduce the security cost while boosting
security.
E-governance requires the involvement of citizen since it is the fastest way to access
services currently. However it is important to understand that the populace is categorized into
young and old. There are some old people in the society who are yet to learn about Information
technology hence they find it difficult to access some of the services provided by e-governance.
This is a threat to e-governance, especially in rural areas where a large population requires
training to ensure that everybody has access to the services provided by the system. Okewu &
Okewu (2008) argue that, the success of an approach is determined by the number of people who
are able to access it and perform the stages that require the delivery of a service. The inability of
e-governance to fulfill the wants of every citizen is a threat to its existence. Over, the years the
system has ensured it becomes more user friendly to ensure high levels of access. However, this
requires training of the old to ensure that everybody in the UAE can access the e-government.
Concept of E-governance
E-governance is one of the latest approaches that governments have adopted to ensure
efficiency in the provision of their services. The government involves a number of stakeholders,
the citizens, organizations and business who require consistent services. As mentioned earlier, e-
government involves the incorporation of Information Technology System (ICT) to ensure the
transformation of services provided by the government (Prabhu, 2013). The transformations
E-GOVERNANCE INITIATIVE IN THE UAE GOVERNMENT 9
targets efficiency, transparency, accountability and transparency of government services between
different stakeholders, for example, government and government agencies, municipality and
local governments, governments and business, business and municipality or business and
citizens. According t Prabhu (2013), the incorporation and integration of ICT to ensure e-
governance has resulted in reduction of corruption, cost of operation and an increase in
transparency and revenue. Governance involves politics, economy and administration initiatives
to ensure that a country is well managed. Efficiency and effectiveness resulting from the
integration of e-governance in the management of a country makes it possible to have better
services (Prabhu, 2013). Furthermore, e-governance provides a platform for the citizens to air
their grievances. Moreover, e-government enables the government to work effectively in three
areas which are public relations, public authority functions and administration. E-governance
does not reduce the vibrancy of democracy in a country hence making it a better option to handle
most of government activities.
Type of e-governance needed
The e-government involves different stakeholders, for example, citizens, employees,
government agencies and business. This requires the formulation of different types of
government that will ensure that it takes care of all the stakeholders (Bhatnagar, 2009).
Furthermore, e-governance emphasizes on providing effective and efficiency services to its
stakeholders. Currently, the UAE involves all stakeholders hence the need to integrate the system
to ensure the provision of high-quality services. There are four types of e-governance which
ensure the provision of high-quality services the Government-to-Employee (G2E), the
Government-to-Government (G2G), the Government-to-Business (G2B) and the Government-to-
Citizen (G2C) (Bhatnagar, 2009).
E-GOVERNANCE INITIATIVE IN THE UAE GOVERNMENT 10
Government-to-Citizen (G2C)
This involves the provision of services that involve the citizens who form the bulk of the
stakeholders. The citizens require services like renewal of driving license, acquisition of birth
certificate, taxation and healthcare among others. A large group of citizen needs to access these
services and this is only possible by providing efficient services at a faster rate (Bhatnagar,
2009). The UAE needs this type of e-government since it increases the chances to serve its
citizens at the right time and a faster rate.
Government-to-Business (G2B)
Businesses are part of the government hence the need to access efficient and effective
services at a faster rate. These services include the provision of memos, policies, rules and
regulation that facilitate the setting up of a business. This type of e-governance is important to
the UAE, especially currently when the country is trying to move away from oil economy. The
UAE needs the Business-to-Business e-governance to support the investors and upcoming
entrepreneurs. In addition, the businesses need to grow and develop and this is facilitated through
the Information Technology Systems.
Government-to-Government
Government-to-Government is one of the Information Technology Systems that ensures
local government and the national government share responsibilities. There are different levels of
government, for example, local, municipal, national. This requires government to ensure
efficiency and effectiveness in delivering services through the integration of e-governance
(Bhatnagar, 2009). There are different services offered through the incorporation of e-
governance, for example, transactions between different levels of government.
E-GOVERNANCE INITIATIVE IN THE UAE GOVERNMENT 11
Government-to-Employee
The employees are shareholders in the government; therefore, the incorporation of the e-
governance enables the system to provide high-quality services. There are different services that
e-governance facilitates, for example, training and salary stipulations, jobs and bureaucracy. The
employees need to view their payrolls and tax records and at times update their remuneration
(Alrashidi, 2012). This requires the provision of a stable service that ensure employee
satisfaction. Currently, the UAE needs a well established system to ensure the payment of
employees in time.
The match between the wants and needs
The advancement in technology requires the government to establish better services that
will provide improved services to the business, citizens, employees, government. The wants and
needs for every government tend to differ, however, there is the assessment enables a
government to decide which type of e-governance to use. Currently, the UAE needs to invest in
trade and tourism that will ensure it deviates from oil economy. This requires investing in better
Information Systems, for example, G2G, G2C, G2B and G2E (Bhatnagar, 2009). Assessing the
needs of the government and the citizens provides a platform for the government to choose a
sophisticated system to handle the services and projects.
The UAE has integrated most of its projects with the 2021 goals hence the need to
provide information to the citizens. The involvement of 2021 goals, for example, better
education systems that incorporates science and technology. In order to fulfill these needs the
government incorporated the e-governance that provides a portal for the education. This provides
direction on how different schools should manage their education affairs. The need to improve
E-GOVERNANCE INITIATIVE IN THE UAE GOVERNMENT 12
government services, for example, license and birth certificate acquisition encouraged UAE to
provide better services to Emiratis. The emphasis on transparency and accountability forced the
government of UAE to incorporate e-governance to ensure that citizens have access to
government information, for example, projects and budget (Al Athmay, 2015). Information is an
integral part of managing a country; therefore, giving the people the power to access information
strengthens the citizen’s trust on the government. UAE’s economy has grown over time as a
result of better management of resources and capital from oil. The country needs to maintain this
level of management hence the incorporation of e-governance. In the recent past, the government
wants to involve the citizens by sharing more information.
The e-governance and context
The Information Technology Systems and Network of services ensures that e governance
is manageable and operates to its full efficiency. The e-government is considered as innovation
as innovation on the side of the government since it is an incorporation of the technology. The e-
governance provides a platform for the government to incorporate IT in most of its operations,
for example, budgeting, businesses and management of the resources, public management and
better governance (Novakouski & Lewis, 2012). E-government is one of the trending initiatives
incorporated by different governments in the world. This increases the probability of UAE
incorporating Information Technology Systems and ensuring the success of the government. In
addition, there is the need to understand that there are two factors that are involved to ensure the
success of e-governance. Readiness and democratization increases the chances of an e-
government to succeed, however, it is imperative to understand the system also works with a
stable government (Novakouski & Lewis, 2012). Furthermore, most governments incorporate e-
governance to boost their initiatives, for example, the UAE and her 2021 agenda. The e-
E-GOVERNANCE INITIATIVE IN THE UAE GOVERNMENT 13
governance provides a platform to formulate better policies that ensure the success of different
economic aspects.
The e-government operates in a systematic context where at times it involves transfer
from one government to another. In order to understand e-governance context one has to
acknowledge it is intertwined characteristics with technology (Novakouski & Lewis, 2012).
Therefore, it is important to have knowledge about the design inscription, context collision and
deployment since mismatch can result in the failure of e-governance. E-governance requires the
building of knowledge to ensure smooth transition in case of transition.
E-governance issue
Despite the success of e-government the system faces some issues which require
adjustments to ensure its efficiency. As mentioned earlier, there is the need for the government to
understand all the concepts, contexts and facilities involved in e-governance. These issues
include:
Information Technology
The government needs to identify the project to ensure that the incorporation of e-
governance favors its system and the services it wants to provide. This is possible through
conducting a feasibility to ensure that the pros outweigh the cons (Novakouski & Lewis, 2012).
In addition, conducting an evaluation increases the chances of establishing the readiness of the
government to integrate e-governance and financial ability to incorporate the system.
Digitization
Digitization involves the management of data a fundamental entity in e-governance since
it allows the provision of services efficiently (Jaeger & Bertot, 2012). Furthermore, e-governance
E-GOVERNANCE INITIATIVE IN THE UAE GOVERNMENT 14
involves a large amount of data which may result in redundancy during implementations hence
the need for digitization. Digitization allows the filtration of data and cleansing from time to time
to avoid chaos.
Access by citizens
Access to information is one of the reasons why government incorporates e-governance
to ensure that the citizens are updated. This is possible by making the making the portals and
websites user friendly. In addition, it involves the availability of resources, for example,
electricity and telecommunication network.
Development of content
The development of content is required in e-governance from time due to system updates
as a result of advancement in technology. However, before updates the government should
consider to scrutinize and conduct better transactions to ensure the saving of past data. Following
the updates ensures that the system avoids irregularities and inconsistencies of data.
E-governance challenges
Data management is one of the challenges facing e-governance due to the large volume
of data. The e-governance is involved with the management of a country hence the need to store
large files of data. At times due to late updates or following wrong procedures the system may
lose vital data hence halting some of the processes (Almarabeh & AbuAli, 2010). Time to time
updates that requires stakeholders to wait for the system to resume efficiency delays transaction
this is a challenge since it results in dissatisfaction. The installment and implementation of the
system requires investment by the government, at times it requires huge sums of capital. There
are instances where there are no infrastructure to ensure the operation of e-governance takes
E-GOVERNANCE INITIATIVE IN THE UAE GOVERNMENT 15
place for example rural areas hence making it impossible to serve all the stakeholders. At times
lack of understanding some of the components involved in e-governance may result in system
failure (Almarabeh & AbuAli, 2010). Regulations and legislature can at times become
challenging to e-governance due to harboring some of the services.
Enterprise Capabilities
The e-governance is able to incorporate most of the activities involved in the
management of a country, for example, building of infrastructure and the processes like judicial
systems and budgeting. The e-governance provides a platform for the government to update the
citizens, businesses, employees and local governments on the progress of some projects, for
example, road construction (Prabhu, 2013). The system allows the government to interact with
its citizens and in the process provides a platform for people to partner and engage with different
ministries. The provision of information on strategies and government agendas through the e-
governance makes it possible for businesses and organizations to align their goals with the
governments. The policies and regulations stipulated on the government portal provide
businesses and organization with direction. The involvement of e-governances ensures
accountability and transparency hence promoting sustainable leadership in a country.
Conclusion
In conclusion, it is important to acknowledge that the advancement in technology has
resulted in a paradigm shift in the way a country is run politically and economically. In the recent
past, most of the countries have adopted the e-governance to ensure efficiency in the delivery of
services to her stakeholders. The same case is mirrored by UAE which adopted e-governance as
E-GOVERNANCE INITIATIVE IN THE UAE GOVERNMENT 16
a way to boost her changing economy. Since the incorporation of e-governance services have
changed hence increasing stakeholders’ satisfaction.
E-GOVERNANCE INITIATIVE IN THE UAE GOVERNMENT 17
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