Gov’t Committed to Utilising Technology to Improve Governance

Minister of State in the Office of the Prime Minister with responsibility for Local Government, Robert Montague, has said that Government was committed to utilising information communication technology (ICT), including e-commerce, to better serve citizens and improve governance.
“The government of Jamaica is cognizant of its role in the use of technology to make the transition in better serving its citizens through seamless transactions on-line between government agencies, citizens and businesses,” he stated.
The State Minister was addressing the launch of Paymaster Jamaica Limited’s $32 million e-Government Access Services project on March 12 at the Jamaica Pegasus Hotel in New Kingston
He said that through the Public Sector Modernisation Programme (PSMP), ICT was being utilised in the process to reform the public service to one that was “more efficient, effective, accountable and will ultimately proliferate the delivery of first-class, accessible and secure government services.”
Noting the improvements in technology, which have taken the world from an industrial to an information society in a few decades, Mr. Montague said that the process has “changed the way we work, shop, learn and entertain ourselves, and how we communicate and interact with Government.”
“The ever accelerating development of information and communication technology is now becoming not just the engine driving the economies of the western world, but also the key to opportunity,” he stated.
He however, acknowledged the inability of some Jamaicans to make use of new technologies, due to limited Internet access and credit card penetration, but stated that the Government was working to improve access.
The e-Government Access Services project is a joint initiative of the Government and Paymaster. Under the project, Paymaster will be accepting payments for traffic tickets and property taxes at its locations island wide. The project will be introduced on a phased basis starting with 21 locations this week.
The bill payment company will provide access to the Jamaica Tax Portal online payment facility of the Tax Administration Department, at a cost of $200 per transaction.