Sharjah Municipality (SM) has enhanced means of direct communication with the public with the lau of e-service via internet and smartphones.

SM’s hotline has now started receiving enquiries and comments of the public via the internet and telephone as the civic body took advantage of modern technology to enhance communication with the public, Director General Eng Sultan Abdullah Al Mualla said.

With the launch of all its services on electronic devices and smartphones by the municipality, users can reach the municipality and access all electronic services that are offered via the internet and the website of the municipality and communicate and interact with the department, he said.

The move comes as part of the keenness of SM to ease communication with customers and contacts, and provide necessary services and information for them through the maximum use of modern technology.

According to Mualla, new applications include many services such as the location of municipal buildings and parking lots, receiving daily letters from the municipality and looking at booklets such as magazines, lodging complaints, making enquiries, interacting and communicating via social networking sites and accessing photo albums and other services.

This service will be in addition to the enhancement of communication and interaction with the public to provide several channels of communication with the public, he added.

He also noted that the SM had launched a service hotline via the internet to provide the public many options to make any comments or questions to the municipality. SM had earlier introduced the e-payment systems in its health clinic under the Department of Public Health.

The director general had informed that the e-payment system, after initial introduction at the municipality’s health clinics, will be applied in all other civil departments also.

The application of the smart fee collection system is designed to accomplish payment transactions, provide the highest safety procedures and safe keeping of the money in addition to saving a lot of time and effort, he said.

The smart cards and the application of the new payment system are part of the process of development and modernisation, undertaken by the municipality to develop and modernise financial systems according to the highest standards.