Al Ain: Al Ain Municipality on Wednesday launched an electronic feedback system for the public.

The system, called Fikra, was designed to serve as a communication channel between the municipality and residents. Residents can now express their opinions and make suggestions on the development of the city, as well as on the working of the municipality, said an official at the launch ceremony.

The system was unveiled by Awad Khalifa Bin Hasoom Al Darmaki, General Manager of Al Ain Municipality.

The ceremony was also attended by Khalfan Al Mazroui, Director of Technical Planning, Mubarak Al Shamsi, Director of the Public Health Department, and a number of senior officials.

Al Darmaki said Fikra would help to enhance and upgrade the level of service provided by the municipality.

"We aim to make dealings with the public easier and to take into account their opinion by acting on creative ideas to develop and enhance the municipality's performance," he said.

Fikra, he said, will create a mechanism for continuous development by motivating both employees and customers of the municipality to develop new ideas and make constructive suggestions.

Residents who would like to give their feedback must o register on the website. They can then send their views or suggestions on either improving the functioning of the municipality or on furthering the city's development.

Al Darmaki said Fikra is a very different service from the current telephone complaint service of 993.

Fikra is not a complaint service, but rather a tool to gather public opinion. All public suggestions and views will be reviewed by a special committee of the municipality, and acted on, he said.

The assessment committee will consist of municipal employees from different administrative and technical departments.

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People can access Fikra by logging on to http://www.fikra.am.ae to post their suggestions and views

Objectives

- Opening up organised communication channels between Al Ain Municipality and the residents of the city through a reliable suggestions program.

- Motivating creative thinking in order to attract bright ideas.

- Giving the public the opportunity to share their opinions with the municipality and provide feedback to its different sectors, with suggestions and feedback aimed at enhancing the working of the municipality and continuous improvement.

--Creating a fast-responding mechanism to deal with suggestions received by the public.

--Enabling the study of suggestions, with full transparency, to enhance relations between the public and the Al Ain Municipality in compliance with the vision, message and values of the municipality.

--Keeping suggestions confidential, along with focusing on the content of the suggestion rather than the individual to which the suggestion is directed.