Use of Technology Improving Public Service Operations

Principal Director of the Public Sector Transformation and Modernisation Programme (PSTMP), Wayne Robertson, says the use of technology is improving the effectiveness and efficiency of operations within public sector entities.

He was speaking in an interview with JIS News about the PSTMP, which is being implemented by the Office of the Cabinet.

The programme aims to enable Government Ministries, Departments and Agencies to develop and deliver high-quality integrated public service programmes, which meet the needs of customers, as well as to strengthen results-based management in Government.

A critical part of the undertaking is incorporating Information and Communications Technology (ICT) solutions to improve efficiencies, facilitate ease of doing business, while reducing time and costs.

Among the measures is implementation of the Application Management and Data Automation Software (AMANDA) in the Ministry of Local Government; and the web-based Automated System for Customs Data (ASYCUDA) at the Jamaica Customs Agency to facilitate electronic processing of documents.

“In everything that we do, there is the imperative of achieving efficiency on one hand and cost containment on the other, as well as customer service delivery,” Mr. Robertson noted.

He said that the most recent undertaking is the introduction of an Electronic Business Registration Form (EBRF) by the Companies Office of Jamaica (COJ), which will be officially launched shortly.

The EBRF converts the manual business form to an electronic version and will allow persons to register their business name or company from anywhere in the world.

“The EBRF is another project where we are using technology to improve effectiveness and efficiency…the introduction of this form was against the backdrop of the need to provide more expeditious services in terms of how long it takes for entities to register their business…we also want to reduce the steps and in so doing, the introduction of IT (Information Technology) solutions came to the rescue,” the Principal Director explained.

He further noted that the Cabinet Office will be working with the COJ and International Business Machines Corporation (IBM), which will be providing the electronic form.

Endorsing the EBRF initiative, Founder & Managing Director of Future Services International Limited, Yaneek Page, noted that the implementation will be game changing and will significantly transform business operations in Jamaica.

“It is exceptionally refreshing to see this type of transformation in Government…the impact for taxpayers, the impact for the public in terms of the accessibility to the service and the ease of doing business.

“The whole idea of the EBRF changes everything, as you can access it from anywhere in the world…you do not have to wait until the COJ opens as you can access the website at anytime…you can do it on public holidays, weekends so it is about the convenience and I think we have moved very far and are very close to where we would like to be,” Miss Page expressed.