The Hon. Zhivargo S. Laing, MP Minister of State for Finance on Bahamas E-Government Programme Development

The advent of the Internet has changed the way we communicate and share information. This is true not only for social networking and keeping in touch with family and friends but also for commerce, learning, banking an all facets of everyday life.

When the World Wide Web surfaced in the early nineteen nineties, Internet presence was no more than another channel to provide a public face on a web page for large corporate entities. However, in a matter of a few years this rapidly changed, and commercial entities could no longer afford to not have Internet presence, as it became absolutely necessary. The web page became inadequate and websites with their numerous links and pages became corporate assets.

By the late nineteen nineties e-Commerce was all the rage, as companies sought to use their Internet presence to generate business and reach a brand new “virtual” market. Today, it would be difficult to find a profitable enterprise that is not doing business over the Internet.

The success of e-Commerce gave rise to ”e-everything” and soon enough, governments were turning to the Internet to deliver services to places where it was costly and difficult to do so physically, giving rise to the concept of e-Government. The success of e-Commerce would also become the catalyst for the rapid penetration of Internet use around the world and would pressure governments to provide an increasing number of services over the Internet. Furthermore, the convenience of e-Commerce has led to high expectation by advanced societies for accessing government services through the Internet or online.

The evolution of e-Government continues today as more and more governments have come to realize the power of the Internet in efficient delivery of services.

Technically, e-Government refers to the use of information and communications technology by government agencies to interact with employees, citizens, businesses and others agencies. The activities of which can be categorized as: (i) publishing - content is published to the Internet; (ii) interacting - two-way communication is established; and (iii) transacting - transactions are conducted online.

Over the last decade the Government of The Bahamas has made some accomplishments in e-Government but there is still much work to be done.

The Government Wide Area Network was implemented in the mid nineteen nineties to links all of the ministries and departments to the main data centre in the Information Technology Unit of the Ministry of Finance.

The e-Government laws were passed in 2003, and several initiatives were launched over the years.

Currently, a large number of ministries and departments have websites, there are more than 200 government forms available online, and a few services, including the Police character Certificate Application, the Skills Bank, Company Registration, and Passport Application. Unfortunately, payments for these services cannot be made online.

To advance our e-Government efforts and improve our online service delivery strategy, the Government of The Bahamas has engaged the Government of Singapore, through its technology arm, IDA International, to recommend a way forward that will employ the best practices, and follow a model that would yield the most for our endeavor.

Singapore is one of the world’s leaders in delivering e-Government. Over some thirty years, it has successfully used technology to improve the lives of its citizen, expand its economy, and made itself one of the best countries in the world in which to work and like.

The Bahamas is seeking to do the same. In the long term we would like to use technology to make The Bahamas the best place to work and live in the Caribbean. We envision a Bahamas where technology is the driver in all sectors in our society: tourism, education, financial services, government, health care, transportation, and commerce.

We imagine the possibilities.

Education for the 21 st Century where parents can keep track of their children’s performance online, and class rooms extend beyond physically walls taking the Bahamian students to place they may never travel.

A new way to manage health services with better access to health information, easy access to medical records, and a more responsive public health system.

A vibrant e-Commerce Market Place where SMEs participate in e-commerce, Bahamians shop locally online, and local companies expand their markets, reaching global customers.

A transformed Financial Services Sector where business with Government is done online, and monitoring and reporting is done online.

An improved Justice System where lawyers can file documents online, court documents are digitized and readily available to authorized persons, the backlog is no more and cases are adjudicated in record time.

In the medium term we see e-Government as the enabler of true Public Sector reform as it will provide the baseline for measuring government agencies’ performance; introduce online customer service and encourage response; provide easy access to government service; clarify government processes; improve efficiency and transform the way the government collects revenue.

The Government will seek to lay the technical foundation and governance structure in the Singapore Model to drive The Bahamas’ e-Government agenda, and by early in the next financial year will be launching the Government online services Portal, govNet.bs, with several services that will cater to citizens and business, including:

Payment of Business License Fees

(b) Payment of Real Property Tax

(c) Payment of Fines

(d) Renewal of Driver’s License

(e) Application for New Business Licenses

(f) Vendor Inquiry (Payments, Invoices and Purchase Orders)

(h) Service-wide Customer Service.

This undertaking is a fundamental one for us in The Bahamas. It will change the culture of doing business and providing public services in our nation. It will involve a substantial investment on our part but the gains will be significant. For this reason, we seek to have the fullest possible buy-in by our society. That is why in the earliest stages, we are undertaking a massive public education campaign, beginning today with the nation’s Parliamentarians. Similar meetings will be held for civil servants, businesspersons, educators, religious leaders and the public at large throughout the nation. It is our hope to ensure that as full an understanding of what we are doing is achieved and that we will work together as a nation to make this important endeavor work.

I invite all to participate.