All RGD Documents Are Safe – Dr. Holness

Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Registrar General’s Department (RGD), Dr. Patricia Holness is reassuring customers that all documents stored at the agency will be safe, should the island be hit by Hurricane Dean over the weekend. “We assure the public that all is well. We have put our physical preparations in place. Our disaster preparedness teams have met and our disaster preparedness plan is in place for all our regional offices,” Dr. Holness told JIS News. “We have secured all our records. All our backups have been completed, so our electronic and paper records are secure,” she added.
She explained that the paper records have been stored in vaults at three different locations. Dr. Holness also noted that the necessary preparations have been made for the electronic records as well. “Our back-up checks have been completed. Should there be any loss of data at the head office, our back-ups are held elsewhere, so there is nothing to fear,” the CEO stressed.
Commenting on the level of preparedness at its regional offices, she pointed out that all the regional offices are prepared for any eventualities. “Our electronic records are centralized and have been secured from our head office in Twickenham Park,” she said.
“As for our paper records, which are at the regional offices, we will ensure that they are placed in the vaults at these locations in acid free boxes or other wax coated boxes that will be placed above ground,” Dr. Holness told JIS News.
“Recovery time is not a challenge for us. Members of our disaster preparedness team are required to be here at least three hours before opening time and that gives us sufficient time to bring our systems back up, so unless there is a very disastrous event, we will be able to repair whatever damage that might have taken place in a short period,” the CEO said.
In the meantime, Dr. Holness informed that customers would not be able to access the organization’s online payment facility as of today (August 18) at noon.
Additionally, the RGD’s night shift which operates from 9:00 p.m. until 5:00 a.m. will not be available to the public.