In keeping with its thrust towards E-government, the Bahamas Government is hosting meetings with local stakeholders and representatives of e-Governance Academy, Estonia, from February 4-8, 2019.
The meetings are intended to provide participants with an overview of the impact of digitization on Estonia and the advantages for The Bahamas. It is expected that eventually the Academy will propose the way forward for e-government transformation for The Bahamas.
Minister of State for Grand Bahama, Senator Kwasi Thompson recently returned home after attending a seminar for executive training for Caribbean policymakers and Managers. The event, which was held in Estonia, gave Ministers attending deeper insight into the effective workings of e-government. In photo, Minister Thompson (right) greets Estonia Minister of Entrepreneurship and Information Technology, Rene Tammist.
Minister of State for Grand Bahama Senator J. Kwasi Thompson and Permanent Secretary in the Office of the Prime Minister Elise Delancy were invited to participate in an Executive Training for Caribbean policymakers and managers, sponsored by the Inter-American Development Bank, which took place October 15th and 19th, 2018, in Tallinn, Estonia.
The Bahamas must develop a National Cyber-crime Strategy otherwise its plans to become a ‘technology hub’ will be “gravely affected”, the Attorney General’s Office has warned.
Rashif Duncombe, a consultant in the Government’s ‘law chambers’, said the Bahamas needed to strengthen numerous areas - including intellectual property laws and the Data Protection Commissioner’s Office - and develop a National Digital ICT Strategy to achieve a key Government objective.
Read more: BS: National Cyber-Crime Strategy Critical To Underpin ‘Tech Hub’
More than 40,000 tax payments in 2017 were made manually, highlighting how far the government and private sector have to travel to achieve true digital government.
The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), in an economic analysis of the potential benefits from its $30m project to transform the government's digital/IT infrastructure and boost Bahamian economic competitiveness, revealed that thousands of VAT, business licence and real property tax payments are still being made "in person".
The Prime Minister yesterday lamented the "inefficient" and "antiquated" demands for businesses to obtain written confirmations and certifcations from different government agencies.
While addressing the Bahamas Business Outlook conference, Dr Hubert Minnis said: "Presently, many government agencies require written certifications from applicants during the application process for various licenses and permits.
Read more: BS: Pm Laments 'Antiquated' Paper-Based Approvals