ICT Enhancing how Government Functions – Paulwell

Science, Technology, Energy and Mining Minister, Hon. Phillip Paulwell, says significant strides have been made in efforts to transform the manner in which government and, by extension, the public sector functions and delivers services, through the incorporation of information and communication technology (ICT).

Speaking at the inaugural Government Forum hosted by telecommunications firm, LIME, at the Wyndham Kingston Hotel on Tuesday (Oct. 30), Mr. Paulwell pointed to several accomplishments, which have been made in this regard.

“Today, we can pay a number of government fees and taxes on-line, for example, which my colleague, the Minister of Finance (and Planning, Dr. the Hon. Peter Phillips) will tell you has helped in driving up the revenue collection. We can see clearly that ICT can transform the way the government functions,” the Technology Minister stated.

Mr. Paulwell contended that in the current “knowledge-driven” global economy, leveraging technology is not only the most important thing that can be undertaken to keep the nation globally competitive, but is also the most effective way for government to cut costs, while continuing to provide and improve on service delivery.

He noted, however, that the implementation of ICT investments throughout Government Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs) is “fragmented, uncoordinated, and costly”. He pointed to instances of “over-capacity” in some areas and “woeful incapacity” in others, while lamenting that, in most cases, “the business value of investments has not been realized”. 

“As a result, across the public sector, we find a compendium of different ICT operating systems, policies, and practices, some that work very well and others that don’t work at all. This fragmented approach has resulted in significant costs to the Government of Jamaica, the largest cost being our failure, thus far, to truly tap into the potential of technology to make our government user-friendly…(and)… readily and easily accessible to the people that we serve,” he argued.

While acknowledging the strides made, Mr. Paulwell contended that “there is still some way to go”, while adding that, “we need to make it, not just easy, but attractive for the average citizen to do business with the government”.

The forum, held under the theme: “Solutions that Enable Public Sector Transformation”, was hosted by LIME to engage government and information technology in dialogue on as well as provide insight and demonstrations, on the solutions which can, among other things, enhance public sector service delivery.