Dept. Of Co-Operatives And Friendly Societies Launches Online Registration

The Ministry of Industry, Investment and Commerce (MIIC) has applauded the Department of Co-operatives and Friendly Societies (DCFS) on its use of digital technology to offer registration services to the public.

Speaking at the virtual launch of the DCFS Online Registration System on February 23, State Minister in the Ministry of Industry, Investment and Commerce, Dr. the Hon. Norman Dunn, said the Ministry is always delighted to see forward-thinking initiatives like this by its agencies, as they serve to reduce bureaucracy and inefficiencies that impact the delivery of quality services to the citizens of the country.

“This bold step by the DCFS towards online registration stands to build confidence among critical stakeholders and will make interactions between the Department and its several groups that require registration less burdensome,” he added.

The State Minister highlighted that one of the strategic priorities of the Government and the MIIC is to continuously work to improve business facilitation.

Digitisation, he said, represents a central plank of the Government’s effort to bring greater efficiency in the public sector.

Under the online registration system, the DCFS will be welcoming registration from groups wishing to be registered as Charities, Friendly Societies, Benevolent Societies, Co-operative Societies, Industrial and Provident Societies and Agricultural Loan Societies.

The use of the online registration system will eliminate the need for persons having to travel to Kingston to do business. If there is no computer access among the membership, these groups can initiate their registration process from a cyber-café by uploading all the required documents and following the Department’s registration process on its online dashboard.

Dr. Dunn said that groups based overseas that do much volunteer work on behalf of the people of Jamaica will no longer need an agent in Jamaica to undertake their registration process.

“This is a big deal, as the time difference between geographical regions, the cost of telephone communication as well as the sometimes extended wait for feedback can make the process needlessly onerous. The Department of Cooperative and Friendly Societies must take a bow,” he said.

According to the latest version of the World Bank’s Ease of Doing Business Report, Jamaica continues to rank highly among its Caribbean counterparts. This action by the DCFS to bring its registration process online further demonstrates the Government’s commitment to improving business processes for all the people and that the country is serious about using efficient technology to serve the public.

“As the Department works to facilitate and encourage community development through the oversight it provides to various organisations, its role in unlocking critical growth in the Jamaican economy cannot be underestimated,” the State Minister said.

The DCFS has a mandate to execute developmental, regulatory and supervisory functions for the entities that are registered under the various Acts administered by the agency.

The need for online registration was recognised due to inefficiencies in the manual registration process, as it required greater input from employees thereby resulting in significantly less time to provide governmental services to the registered societies.