ABU DHABI — In its efforts to improve the mechanism for delivery of national ID cards, the Emirate Identity Authority (EIDA) is studying the possibility of printing the ID cards and delivering them through registration centres across the country. Currently, it is delivered by Empost and Aramex.

Dr Ali Al Khouri, Director-General of the EIDA, has said that the system would be in place in some centres by mid-2012.

The initiative is part of the EIDA’s efforts to find the easiest solutions for issuing and delivering of IDs. The move is also designed to meet customer’s needs and live up to their expectations. “We have begun studies on printing and delivering ID cards at centres across the country,” an official source at EIDA who did not wish to be named, said. Currently, EIDA’s focus is on developing mechanisms for speedy delivery of ID cards.

At the meeting of the higher management committee of the EIDA held on Tuesday at the EIDA headquarters, Al Khouri said the authority is planning to develop its services and improve quality and find ways to further enhance the competitiveness in terms of services provided.

According to the EIDA, by last month it had registered 4.5 million people. It means that it has registered around 50 per cent of the people who live in the UAE.

The meeting also discussed the aspect of strengthening coordination between EIDA and the company which makes the electronic form regarding pre-appointments. This will guarantee the commitment of the company to send the number of appointments the authority fixes every day for the customers. The committee also proposed forming a dedicated team to manage the dates and appointments and called up on its departments to coordinate with the media department before launching any new service for the public.

Electronic linkage

The structure of electronic linkage with the UAE organisations is aimed at supporting decision-making and developing the service system and will be officially launched in the second half of 2012, said Dr Al Khouri.

The electronic linkage will support decision-making and provide decision-makers with instant and precise statistical data about the UAE demography depending on the authority’s population register, whose data is extremely precise and secure.

Al Khouri stated that the EIDA had already classified the electronic linkage requirements and enquired about the data of the population register system in three major categories namely, electronic inquiry about the data of the population register system, provision of statistical data, and electronic linkage with the entities concerned with civil incidents for the purpose of updating the database of the population register system automatically.

He pointed out that the Emirates Identity Authority had assigned a consulting company to study the project and set a timeline showing the execution phases of the project, which is expected to be officially launched in the second half of 2012.

Stressing the importance of the projected results of this strategic project, which is being carried out by the Emirates Identity Authority as part of its new strategic plan 2010-2013, Al Khouri clarified that many UAE official entities including the Ministry of Education, Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research, Ministry of Justice and other UAE local and federal entities would benefit from the electronic linkage process.— anwar@khaleejtimes.com

• UAE