The Bahamian government has engaged the government of Singapore to recommend best practices on e-government in an effort to strengthen ICT infrastructure and improve online service delivery in Bahamas.
Singapore government’s technology subsidiary, IDA International, will act as the ICT advisor to Bahamian government managing the overall e-government programme deployment in the country.
Zhivargo Laing, Minister of State for Finance on Bahamas E-Government Programme Development, said the government will seek to lay the technical foundation and governance structure in the Singapore Model to drive the Bahamas’ e-government agenda.
He noted Singapore as one of the world’s leaders in delivering e-government and for over some thirty years has been successfully in using technology to improve the lives of its citizens and expand its economy.
“The Bahamas is seeking to do the same. We envision a Bahamas where technology is the driver in all sectors in our society,” Laing said.
The Bahamas government’s first batch of online services will be launched in July.
These will include Payment of Real Property Tax, Renewal of Driver’s License, Vendor Inquiry (payments, invoices, purchase orders) and Application for New Business Licenses.
“This is a major initiative for The Bahamas and will drastically change the way we conduct business and interact with government agencies, ” said Laing.
The United Nations has ranked The Bahamas 65 out of 184 countries in terms of e-government services.
However, studies of IDA International concluded the Bahamas must make great leaps to close the gaps in current infrastructure before public service in the country can effectively progress into the 21st century.
Core inefficiencies were also found in the government’s vision and strategy, organisation and capacity for information technology.
The report cited scarce ICT manpower, low morale among staff and noted that the existing data centre and government network needed to be enhanced to meet the anticipated increase in demand.
The study also concluded the lack of governance structure in the current system would not allow for the definite strategic direction needed to implement the proposed widespread policy changes.
Laing said there’s a lot of work to be done including the provision of ICT training on e-governance. It also means change of workflow, change of attitude, change of skills for some people, he added.
“It will involve a substantial investment on our part but the gains will be significant, ” he said.
FutureGov
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