The Ministry of Finance (MoF) held the second session of the “Customer Councils” initiative, as part of the “Zero Government Bureaucracy” programme, recently launched by the UAE government. The event was attended by Haji Al Khoori, Undersecretary of the Ministry of Finance, Fatima Youssef Al Naqbi, Service Sector, Agent Acting support, and several ministry officials.

Over 80 representatives from the public and private sectors participated in the session, during which the outcomes of the first session were reviewed and the feedback and challenges faced by customers were presented, which were identified during the first customer council held on April 23rd.

Subsequently, a number of topics were discussed, including improving the customer experience for compliance services with international financial organisation requirements, “government procurement,” and “inquiries about ministry services.”

The Ministry of Finance (MoF)  aims to survey and map all procedures, conditions, and requirements within the ministry, identify unnecessary efforts and procedures and address them, identify the proposed areas for zeroing, and then measure the results and impacts through a new methodology.

The second session is titled “Designing solutions in partnership with customers,” where the customer experience is explored, along with their satisfaction with the ministry’s services and ways to improve, develop, and innovate new patterns for government procedures to enhance the customer experience.

This is part of an ongoing program aimed at simplifying and reducing procedures, reducing the time required for procedures by at least 50 per cent, and eliminating all repetitive conditions and requirements.  In his opening remarks, Younis Haji Al Khoori stated, “We are actively working on the series of Customer Councils as part of the Zero Government Bureaucracy Programme. We continue to simplify and streamline government procedures, develop services, adopt highly efficient business models, and deliver a future generation of proactive integrated services.”

He emphasised that the Ministry of Finance is dedicated to supporting the Zero Government Bureaucracy Programme, a significant initiative towards achieving the UAE Centennial 2071 goals. The programme aligns with the national indicators outlined in the “We the UAE 2031” vision and builds on the smart government initiatives launched by the UAE’s leadership in 2013. It also supports the UAE’s strategy for designing government services (Services 2.0), introduced last July.

He further explained that implementing the Zero Bureaucracy Programme at the Ministry of Finance involves assessing public experiences through interactive labs, brainstorming sessions, and design thinking within the “Zero Bureaucracy Interactive Lab.”

The initiative includes hosting Customer Councils and sessions with stakeholders from the business sector and the public to present, discuss, and test proposed solutions. All segments of society are encouraged to participate in decision-making processes, ensuring that proposals are thoroughly studied, analysed, and implemented.