Sheikh Mohammed highlights best and worst performing government departments in bureaucracy reduction

Department of Justice, Department of State and Department of Energy and Infrastructure perform best

Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, has said government bureaucracy is 'the art of turning simple things into complex ones'. Photo: UAE Presidential Court

Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, has announced the three government departments that have been most effective at reducing levels of bureaucracy, as well as the three that performed the worst.

The Department of Justice, Department of State and Department of Energy and Infrastructure were the best performing entities, Sheikh Mohammed said in a post on X on Sunday. The three worst were Emirates Post, the Pensions Authority and the Ministry of Sports.

“Government bureaucracy is the art of turning simple things into complex ones … and the art of creating administrative systems to combat individual creativity,” said Sheikh Mohammed, who is also Prime Minister. “In government bureaucracy, procedures are more important than results, papers are more important than service delivery, and systems and rules are put in place to limit thinking outside the box.

“At the end of 2023, we launched a movement to eliminate and reduce bureaucracy in the departments. We launched an assessment of the extent of the departments' response to ensure better services, higher efficiency and facilitation of people’s lives.”

Sheikh Mohammed last year set out wide-reaching plans to tackle government bureaucracy and boost efficiency across the country. He said departments would work to eliminate 2,000 unnecessary procedures within a year as part of the strategy.

They were also charged with halving the time taken to carry out services, under the Zero Government Bureaucracy programme, which was established in November 2023.

“We say to those who do not make sufficient efforts: the bad systems created by government bureaucracy over the years can be changed by bold and quick decisions in days,” Sheikh Mohammed said.