Applying for a visa, obtaining a driving licence, renting a property or signing up for health insurance … what is sometimes called “personal admin” can be a time-consuming part of modern life. Most people, already busy with family and careers, simply want these unavoidable processes over and done with as quickly as possible.
It should come as no surprise therefore that Abu Dhabi’s AI-powered super app for government services is called Tamm, the Arabic for “done”. The app, which can be used to access more than 1,000 public and private services, is an example of how the UAE has worked hard to cut bureaucracy, make services simpler and generally free citizens and residents from the burden of onerous paperwork. A good quality of life includes ease of day to day activities, which Tamm enables for many in Abu Dhabi.
Last month, Tamm even caught the eye of Microsoft’s president and vice chairman. Brad Smith praised Abu Dhabi’s AI initiatives and apps, telling a US Senate committee hearing: “We need to bring it to America.” However, Tamm and other streamlined government services, such as the UAE Pass and Dubai’s Work Bundle, are the result of years-long efforts to enhance government procedures and to put the user at the heart of designing these processes.
Establishing a comprehensive Emirates ID system that links the holder to different services, the public ranking of the best and worst-performing government departments, impromptu inspections of civil service offices and bonuses for employees or work teams that raise standards are just some of the measures taken to improve services for everybody.
On Monday it was confirmed that such efforts will continue. Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, announced the next phase of a Zero Government Bureaucracy programme, which he described as “a national project to make government services simpler, faster and more efficient”.
It is a project that has gone quite some way in making people’s lives simpler. During the first phase of the Zero Government Bureaucracy programme, more than 4,000 unnecessary or duplicated procedures were cancelled. Mohammed Al Gergawi, Minister of Cabinet Affairs, said members of the public, customers, businesses and investors were saved more than 12 million hours and Dh1.12 billion ($326.7 million).
As a country with a growing population, most of whom are from overseas, it makes sense that the Emirates is harnessing its technological know-how to develop a robust system of efficient services. With cities such as Abu Dhabi and Dubai acting as magnets for regional and international talent, the arrival of more people results in a huge amount of paper and digital information to retain, process and update. Having an efficient system to process all this information is vital.
Initiatives like the Zero Government Bureaucracy programme, coupled with broader measures such as the UAE’s Digital Government Strategy 2025, show it is possible for bureaucracies – as Mr Al Gergawi noted – “re-engineer processes” to deliver quicker outcomes. Entrenched bureaucracies can be an issue, but a flexible approach that focuses on improvements and outcomes is one that can cut the dreaded red tape, increasing individual and societal efficiency.
