Govt digitization strategy continues with aim to increase productivity

Govt digitization strategy continues with aim to increase productivity
(FILE PHOTO)

Redeployments to be brought about within public sector

NASSAU, BAHAMAS — A top Ministry of Finance official said yesterday as the government moves forward with its digitization strategy, it is looking internally to see how workers within the public service may be redeployed for greater productivity.

Marlon Johnson, acting financial secretary, while speaking at a virtual press conference for the launch of the MyGateway platform, noted: “A key part of the broader fiscal strategy is a much more efficient government. In a very direct way, we have started to sensitize heads of departments around paper, duplication and printing.

Acting Financial Secretary Marlon Johnson. (BIS PHOTO/PATRICK HANNA)

“We will contain expenditure growth and look for ways to start to bringing that cost down. We are under the mandate of the minister and Cabinet to start to bring down cost as it relates to paper and all those elements.”

He added: “As we do that, as we streamline, we are also going to look internally as to how we can repurpose and redeploy, repurpose persons to much more productive and interesting kinds of work that adds more value.

“What we are trying to do over time is sort of transition the way we work to value-added work and analysis assessment and away from mundane clerical elements that these new processes require.

“The way we are going to push that forward from a fiscal standpoint is actually bringing down allocation in those areas of the budget that consume paper products and the like.”

The government yesterday announced the launch of MyGateway.gov.bs, its centralized and interoperable platform for online government services. The platform has been dubbed the first of its kind and scope in the region and marks a major milestone in the $30 million Government Digital Transformation to Strengthen Competitiveness project.

Since the launch of the government’s pilot programme in February 2021, there have been in excess of 12,000 visitors to the website, and of that number, more than 5,100 Bahamians have registered for and paid for online government services.

According to State Finance Minister Kwasi Thompson, the platform will improve the ease of doing business. According to Thompson, the government is aiming to have 200 services accessible online, with new services to be added every six to eight weeks. Nine new online services will be made available this week.

Bahamian citizens residing in The Bahamas can use a computer, mobile phone or tablet to easily and conveniently request and pay for several services across multiple government agencies.

Additionally, government documents requested on MyGateway.gov.bs may be collected from a centralized collection location — the Post Office in Town Centre Mall.