BARBADIANS ARE ABLE to file their income tax returns online. Most people wish they could do so for most things in relation to Government services, including pay road taxes and driving licence fees while sitting in front of their computers.
In addition to increasing public convenience, such a system would ensure Government saves money and time, as they would need to employ fewer cashers, and long lines of people waiting – usually frustratingly – to pay their bills would be a thing of the past. The impact waiting long periods of time to pay bills would also reflect positively on productivity.
All of this falls under the category of e-government, where citizens, businesses, organisations and even Government departments are able to interact with the state using various information and communication technology mechanisms.
And as Barbados pushes to become a 24/7 society, it is something that will be critical for both the private and public sector. International group Secure Identity Alliance estimates e-government will save the global public purse up to US$50 billion by 2020.
“Whether we’re logging into e-services to perform health care claims, to vote or sign a digital transaction, pay taxes, book or buy goods or services, our digital identify will be absolutely central in the years to come.
“Convenience, privacy protection and security are therefore of paramount importance for trust in modern and efficient electronic Government services. And as we move further towards 2020 the role of digital identity intensifies as the cost savings mount up,” said Frederic Trojani, chairman of the Alliance’s board.
Government has already started to pursue e-government initiatives.
A 2013 report produced by the Office Of Public Sector Reform gave a status report on the state’s e-government efforts. It first listed the objectives of the Barbados e-government programme, which included establishing a management, implementing the technical infrastructure to support the various e-government initiatives, ensuring the provision of adequate resources, reviewing and enhancing all Government services using ICT, and development of a communications and marketing strategy to ensure Barbadians “understand the vision, the changes that will occur and the tangible benefits to be derived from e-government”.
An examination of the situation three years ago found a number of concerns/issues that have impacted Barbados’ e-government implementation.
These included challenges with interconnectivity and information sharing between various ministries and departments, inadequate physical infrastructure to support the deployment of new informations, the absence of a centralised unit responsible for all information systems/information technology issues, and the need for common standards, policies and procedures for the acquisition and deployment of hardware and software.
The study also identified the need for additional IT posts to support existing and proposed projects, and ensuring that only licensed software is used by Government agencies.
Barbados completed its first e-government strategy ten years ago. It was approved by Cabinet. The following year it had in hand an institutional framework for e-government. The report from the Office of Public Sector Report concluded that an updated e-government strategy was necessary “to reflect the current state of ICT in the public sector and the changes in technology”.
A new e-government master plan was scheduled to be completed by the second quarter of 2014. Last month, Acting Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of the Civil Service Allyson Forte, announced that the ministry was in the process of developing a new e-government master plan.
Government and Digicel signed a Wide Area Network (WAN) contract to facilitate the effort. He said the WAN would, among other things, provide infrastructure for Government’s e-government programmes “and create an opportunity for the rationalisation of Government’s current data and voice networks”.
