Dubai gets it right on red tape

Recently in answer to a question one Dubai official said, 'Bureaucracy? We don't have any!' This seemed to sum up the Dubai approach to government in a nutshell, things have changed in the past decade.

Old timers will recall waiting for slow-moving visa queues and dilatory officials in some departments. But that is not the case today. Partly this is down to e-Government, which has been rolled out at great speed, but even more it is down to the right attitude.

Instead of officials going out of their way to be obstructive, they are as helpful as they can be. 'A late visa application, Sir? No problem, but there might be a small fine!'

Leading the pack in terms of local bureaucratic efficiency must be the Dubai Tecom free zone. Service is swift, payment electronic and customers are dealt with patiently and efficiently whatever their nationality, and there are many to cope with.

The five-minute pit-stop for a resident's visa at the Dubai Media City in an air-conditioned, spacious lounge with leather-chairs and complimentary drinks is a world away from the British Embassy in Dubai, for example.

Here good old-fashioned queues are the order of the day, and you are advised to come at 7am to beat-the-heat. This colonial-style is endearing if you do not have to suffer it. But what a turnaround, before 1971 Britain ran the foreign relations of Dubai, now the locals are showing the UK how to run a bureaucracy.

This is not just for the benefit of the public either, it is good for business. The easier a bureaucracy makes its own operations then the more money it will rake in fees. Strangely enough, if you keep people waiting in long queues in hot rooms, they may be put off your services.

Given that many bureaucracies are funded, particularly in Dubai, by the fees for the services that they provide then the logic for following the Dubai model of good service is unbreakable.

A final word in praise of e-Government. Paying a fine in Dubai is almost a pleasure as you race through the website to learn your dues and pay online. And many other government services now offer services online. A simple form download, for example, can save a trip to a department to pick one up.

Business friendly, or non-existent, Dubai has really made eliminating red tape part of the local business-friendly culture, and other bureaucracies from around the world ought to come and learn something.