Crown Prince, Deputy Supreme Commander and First Deputy Prime Minister, HRH Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa awarded the Information & eGovernment Authority (iGA) with the 2020 Service Excellence Award. iGA Chief Executive, Mohammed Ali Al Qaed expressed his pride in the authority being selected, reiterating its commitment to HRH the Crown Prince’s directives to maintain effective communication with beneficiaries, gather their feedback, and continue to enhance the government service experience and quality levels across digital channels.
Al Qaed’s comments came at a meeting to mark the occasion to thank and congratulate the employees overseeing the Tawasul cases and other supporting teams that provide support to the National Suggestions and Complaints System expressing his pride and appreciation to their committment. Tawasul’s performance has been excelling in terms of the speed and efficiency with which it responds to suggestions and complaints.
Al Qaed said that one of the main factors in securing the award was iGA’s commitment to following the directives of HE the Minister of Interior, Gen. Shaikh Rashid bin Abdulla Al Khalifa, to promptly respond to all cases received via Tawasul. He also credited the win to efforts by the team whom ensured immediate responses to all cases received. The iGA handles all enquiries, notes, and complaints received via Tawasul, as well as other cases related to government entities that have not joined the system but have joint, eServices via the National Portal. This makes iGA among the entities receiving the highest volume of cases.
Al Qaed said that the award reaffirms the Kingdom’s commitment to a ‘Smart Government’ approach that elevates efficiency and quality of services for citizens and residents, while utilizing the most advanced technical solutions. He praised Tawasul as a system that reinforces fairness and equality among beneficiaries by providing a constant and direct communication channel between citizens and government officials through a single app and site. This communication gap is bridged while alleviating pressures on government entities and saving resources, including reducing paper use.
He emphasized the role that Tawasul plays in streamlining communications by allowing suggestions and complaints to be sent to government entities, along with attachments, with a specified timeframe allocated for replies. This is in addition to providing reference numbers and surveys to gather feedback on the quality of responses.
Al Qaed thanked the team for their efforts in monitoring the cases received by Tawasul from the beginning of the year to date, which have been on the rise due to the ongoing Coronavirus (COVID-19) situation. The government has sped up the digital transformation of numerous services in response, which has increased the public’s reliance on eServices and digital channels. This, in turn, led to an increase in inquiries and comments received. Al Qaed added that the iGA’s team responded promptly to the public’s concerns, and that the suggestions were given a high level of attention and studied thoroughly to determine their feasibility.
Al Qaed revealed that the total number of cases received by the iGA via Tawasul from January to September of this year was 10,001, an increase of 114% from the 4,654 received during same period last year. This included 7,674 received via the National Portal and 2,344 via the Tawasul app.
He emphasized that the iGA remains committed to enhancing communication with beneficiaries via Tawasul and other channels, considering them essential partners in the development of government services. He said that the latest technologies will be deployed to further enhance the efficiency and performance of the system.