Since the Dubai Police set up a smart service that allowed the public to check if a debt-related travel ban has been issued against them, more than 75,000 residents of 150 nationalities have benefitted from it, authorities have revealed.
Over a half a million inquiries have also been processed, leading to the recovery of Dh2.6 billion and savings of over Dh18 million, the Dubai Police said at a meeting of the Strategic Affairs Council of The Executive Council of Dubai on Tuesday.
The platform, which was introduced in 2018, can be accessed through the Dubai Police website. Users will be able to inquire about their 'criminal status' in financial cases and verify if police or judicial entities have issued a travel ban against them.
Besides the Web-based service, the police also sends an SMS to individuals charged in financial disputes involving small amounts of money. The SMS notifies residents about any travel ban and gives them the opportunity to settle their cases.
More than 21,000 individuals of 137 nationalities have availed of the SMS service, helping the Dubai Police recover Dh2.1 billion and facilitate savings of Dh38 million.
Strategic affairs meeting
At the Strategic Affairs Council meeting chaired by Sheikh Maktoum bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Ruler and First Deputy Chairman of The Executive Council of Dubai, other government entities also discussed the success of their innovative projects.
Smart Dubai reported that its Dubai Paperless Strategy has so far enabled 33 government entities to cut paper consumption by 67 per cent, saving 195.4 million sheets of paper from a total of 293.2 million consumed annually. It also allowed entities to save Dh831 million; 8.8 million hours of work; and 23,448 trees.
Smart Dubai is working to transfer 100 per cent of the Dubai Government's internal transactions and public services to digital platforms before the end of 2021.
The Knowledge and Human Development Authority (KHDA), on the other hand, presented a report about private education and its role in enhancing Dubai's position as an international knowledge economy hub. It found that the private education sector, which serves 300,000 school students and 50,000 higher education students, contributes Dh18 billion to the Dubai economy.
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